


The Twin's Intuition

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Series: Star Wars: A Modern AU [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Han is totally a dork, Happy Skywalker Family, Leia is a BAMF, M/M, Modern AU, OT3, Poly Parents, Threesome - F/M/M, with a little bit of angst thrown in of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-23 02:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6102241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leia hasn't trusted Han since the moment Luke dragged him through the door. However, after a conversation with her mother, Leia finally realizes that she may have some use for him. What follows is a scheme that leads to awkward situations, realizations, and the discovery of long buried secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Leia Gets An Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second half of my modern Star Wars AU. The first part doesn't have to be read for this one but it will be referenced a lot throughout so I would recommend it. This one will focus on the twins and Han. Please enjoy.

Sometimes the universe was cruel and unforgiving, but occasionally there were those that got lucky. Luke and Leia could have lost their parents, been separated at birth, and forced through countless horrors. Instead, they grew up with two fathers and a mother, with a wonderful godfather, and kind and caring friends. They had the chance of meeting their grandfather, Ruwee Naberrie, before he passed and were able to go on fun and interesting vacations over breaks with plenty of opportunities in front of them.

As both grew, it quickly became clear that Luke strongly took after Padmé. He was quieter and had a delicate, almost gentle sense about him. Yet when it was needed, he equally had inherited his mother’s strength. Even if he seemed to be beaten, Luke always managed to pick himself up and stand strong as he always looked out for those around him.

Leia took after her mother as far as interests went, fascinated in politics and economics and government, yet her personality more closely resembled her fathers, Anakin and Obi-Wan. Often, it was difficult to read what Leia was really thinking as she quietly observed everything from afar, like Obi-Wan liked to do, or she was in the center of attention, her presence almost daunting and unavoidable like Anakin.

Ultimately, it was clear Luke was the dreamer and Leia was the logical one, though Leia was still the one more likely to snap at someone damn the consequences once again contrasting with her brother’s soft spoken nature. This easily led to arguments amongst the twins but balanced them as well and when they worked together, they were unstoppable.

For a fair section of their younger years, Anakin and Obi-Wan were the ones tucking the twins into bed and driving them to school. It wasn’t uncommon for Padmé to be called to DC and this became even more common once she made senator. Nevertheless, she did the most work she possibly could in her home state and always called every night when she was away, making her a still constant present in their lives.

Now, Padmé was still a senator, successfully holding her title for years as she fought her fellow senator, Sheev Palpatine, constantly. The conflict made it to common for Padmé to come home exhausted emotionally and physically and on that day as Leia opened the door to her childhood home, she saw that her mother looked ready to pass out.

Under normal circumstances, Leia would have called her fathers over to help but she knew Padmé wouldn’t want all the attention drawn to her, which undoubtedly it would. Besides her fathers and Luke being at home, so were a hoard of people as they celebrated hers and her brother’s twenty-first birthday.

Leia was suddenly very thankful that she had answered the door and quickly looped an arm around her mother’s arm and began to guide her upstairs.

“Leia,” she said kindly, “you don’t have to. I’ll be fine—”

“Mother, please don’t argue. We both know that you won’t be,” Leia replied firmly. She guided her mother up the stairs before anyone else could see and immediately went to her parents’ bedroom.

They both sat down on the edge of the bed and Leia could tell she had made the right move. With all the commotion below them, Padmé allowed the stiffness in her form to fall, her appearance changing from stressed to defeated.

“Would you like something to drink?” asked Leia. When her mother shook her head, Leia got right to the point and asked, “What’s happened this time?”

Padmé covered her eyes. Leia had always admired the steady, strong voice, the determined eyes, the perfectly placed smile or lack thereof that she used when making a speech. She contained a beauty and grace with words and posture that Leia hoped to one day achieve. But Leia wasn’t blind and she didn’t place her mother or her fathers up on pedestals like some kids. She knew that they were human and she knew that even the strongest had their weaknesses.

Leia had seen her mother cry a total of three times. The first time had been when her grandfather, Padmé’s father, had died. The second time had been when Anakin had collapsed and they’d been stuck in a hospital for hours, waiting to see what the problem was (in the end it had just been stress but at the time a million, horrible ideas had stayed in their minds). The third time had been when her and Luke graduated from high school, tears of joy.

Now, Padmé didn’t cry and it was that which Leia took note of. Her mother cried when she felt surges of emotion but what she was feeling right now was a sad and lonely defeat. When Padmé finally set her hands back in her lap and Leia could see her mother’s eyes again, she also noted a hint of disgust.

Leia asked, “What did Palpatine do?” She knew of no one else that could cause such emotions in her mother.

Again, Padmé remained silent for a time. Leia had to wait a considerable length and it took all her concentration to not pry out whatever was eating away at her mother.

Finally Padmé said, “He’s using his charity for cancer patients to embezzle money.”

“Cancer patients?” Leia asked incredulously. She had heard of his backwards bills and how he moved through loopholes like a shark. She knew that Palpatine played dirty and everything about him screamed hypocrite but what she had just heard was a new low. “His own charity? What else has he done? Helped animal shelters by buying the dogs only to wring their necks later?”

The ridiculous nature of the statement actually caused a laugh out of her mother. It wasn’t Leia’s intention but the sound certainly didn’t come unwelcomed. Nevertheless she immediately asked, “What are you going to do about it?”

Here, Padmé sighed again and that defeated look came across her face. “Nothing. I will do nothing.”

“But mother you can’t let him just embezzle funds for his own benefit—”

“I can if there’s no evidence,” she sighed.

Leia looked at her mother hard. “Then how do you know this is true?”

“I took a leap of faith. I didn’t actually find anything but apparently my snooping around didn’t go unnoticed. So the bastard came right out and told me,” Padmé murmured.

Though whether or not the word ‘bastard’ was a curse could be argued, it was something that rarely came from Leia’s mother’s lips and showed how truly angry she was.

“But that shows he’s to confident,” Leia quickly said. “If he feels he can outright tell you his illegal activities, then that means he feels safe and people who feel safe always slip up.”

“Do they?” asked Padmé, more for Leia’s benefit than her own.

“Of course,” Leia said heatedly. “And if he doesn’t then we can always plant evidence.”

Once again, Padmé laughed and it was not exactly what Leia intended but she took it anyways. Her mother gave her a sidelong glance and said, “So we stop someone’s illegal activity by committing a crime as well.”

“Sometimes it has to be done,” Leia responded. She knew that her mother was taking this jokingly, and she was glad that her mood was lightening, but one thing Leia would always disagree with was her mother’s following of the rules in the political field. Sometimes rules only got in the way of actual results, such as the moment at hand. Nevertheless, that day was not a day to argue back and forth and Leia asked, “Are you sure about not wanting anything to drink?”

“I’m fine,” Padmé assured her. “Just…give me a few more moments and I’ll join you downstairs.”

“I can wait for you.”

Padmé shook her head. “It’s your birthday sweetheart. I want you to enjoy it as much as possible. Now go before I have to push you out the door myself.”

Leia sighed but nodded in agreement. “Fine. But I’m coming back up if you’re not downstairs in ten minutes.”

“Understood. I’ll see you in a minute sweetheart,” Padmé promised.

Leia kissed her mother on the cheek and then moved to go back downstairs. Already, her mind was turning with ideas on how she could turn the tables in her mother’s favor. Though having never run for public office, she had been around politicians since she was a baby. Her godfather, Bail Organa was a politician as well and her older father was a professor in political philosophy. It was easy to ascertain resources and ideas and theories from a number of different viewpoints, including the classes she’d already taken on the corresponding subjects. Nevertheless, she felt that she’d have to try a different path in this case. Like she’d told her mother, sometimes the rule abiding way wasn’t the way.

Because of this new goal in mind, Leia avoided the noise in the living room and quickly turned into the dining room and headed for the kitchen. It would give her a few extra minutes of alone time to think and she’d be able to grab something to—

She stopped, rather confused as she saw one of her fathers standing there with his arms crossed and giving an accusing stare at one of the guests.

Obi-Wan’s hair was nearly white but there was still specks of the soft ginger that had once been there. It made him look somewhat older than he was but no less handsome or charming. For the moment, his glasses were expertly balanced at the edge of his nose as he looked at the guest. Leia recognized it as his classic ‘you’re not moving from this spot unless I say so’ look. Leia finally turned her attention to the guest and couldn’t help but let out the disgruntled sigh that alerted them to her presence.

“Han Solo,” she grumbled. She walked up to her father and subconsciously mimicked his stance. “What are you doing now?”

Han Solo snorted. “What is it with your family and accusing me of things?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Leia responded icily, “maybe because you stole my dad’s watch and tried to pawn it off.”

“I said I was sorry,” Han replied defensively. “And it was one time!”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “If only. You know, my son believes a lot in you and I tend to trust his instincts. You’re an intelligent, resourceful man. You shouldn’t put yourself so low.”

“You should just call him what he is,” Leia interjected. “A thief, a con man, and a coward.”

“Hey! Nobody calls me a coward but myself. Anyways, it was nice seeing you Princess but I think I’ll go where I’m actually wanted,” Han responded before passing both of them.

Leia resisted the urge to hit the man as he moved by. She still couldn’t remember when Han had started calling her that but she knew she’d always hate it.

“Leia…”

She looked up at her father who was giving her a warning glance.

“What?”

“He is here for Luke. Please don’t attack him,” Obi-Wan sighed.

Leia simply rolled her eyes. “I’d do something worse than that. Cuts heal. Egos are a bit harder.”

Obi-Wan let out a soft groan. “I will always regret it that Anakin was the first one to respond when you got into that school fight.”

“Why? He handled it very well.”

“He took you out for ice cream!”

Leia couldn’t help but laugh at Obi-Wan’s face. She always found it amusing when he got riled up. It was always so out of character. It passed quickly though and Obi-Wan just rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Anyways,” he said, “you could have been a bit nicer with Han.”

“What’s the point? He’s a thieving, no good, double crossing, backstabbing, money hungry-oh my god. He’s perfect.”

Obi-Wan rapidly blinked at her. “Wait-what? What the bloody hell are you—”

Leia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to shut him up. “Just an idea that I have. Finally Han will be useful.”

“Useful-Leia what are you going to do? _Leia_ …”

“Don’t worry. No one will get caught,” Leia said affectionately. She quickly walked back to the party before Obi-Wan could argue any farther.

Once in the living room, Leia nodded in acknowledgement of a few of her friends as she passed but she made sure to head straight for her brother. Her dad had an arm wrapped around Luke, trapping him there as he told some embarrassing story to his friends. Though Luke was playing his part of the reddening cheeks and bashful glances, Leia knew her brother loved it when Anakin did this. Luke didn’t get truly embarrassed easily. If it brought a smile to anyone’s face, Luke would just as readily tell it himself, but of course he held off, knowing that Anakin loved it just as much. And of course Anakin always tried to find a chance to joke on Luke because he sure as hell knew that Leia wouldn’t let him.

Leia allowed the story to finish before grabbing Luke. “Sorry, Dad, gotta steal him away for a bit. We’ll be right back.”

Leia dragged her brother into the hallway. “I’ll make this quick but before we meet up with our friends tonight, I want you to keep Han and Wedge around.”

“Han?” asked Luke. “But you’re constantly complaining about him. And you know he doesn’t like Wedge either. Are you trying to start a fight?”

“Yes but not with them. And it’s not my fault that you pick the most dysfunctional friends,” Leia responded. “Just make sure they’re here, alright?”

“What about your friends? Why aren’t any of them going to stay?”

Leia gave her brother a mischievous smile. “Because they won’t do anything illegal.”


	2. An Insane Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as of now, I don't know if I'll be able to keep a regular schedule like I did with the last one but I do know that I will update multiple times a week. It just might not be every other day like last time.
> 
> Anyways, thank you all for reading and leaving kudos and thank you to those that came over from the first part and those that discovered this story first. I hope you enjoy this next chapter :)

After the cutting of the cake and the singing, the friends dwindled out, some to go off to their own business as the closer ones went to the planned meeting place at the heart of the city. However, just as Leia had asked, Han and Wedge stayed behind.

Anakin looked at the gathering with a mischievous eye that made him look twenty years younger. “I so want to know what you lot are up to.”

However, Obi-Wan was quickly dragging Anakin away. “Well I would prefer to remain blissfully unaware.”

Padmé laughed as she watched them leave. She walked over and gave Luke and Leia a pointed look. “Whatever, you’re planning, stay safe,” she said with a small smile. She hugged and kissed them both. “Happy birthday. Have fun tonight.”

“We will mom,” they said in unison. They smiled and waited until they had clearly heard their parents walk back up the stairs.

Now alone, Leia turned to them. “Thank you both for staying.”

“No problem,” Wedge replied with a half smirk. Leia had been somewhat suspicious of him when they’d first met back in sixth grade, especially when Luke had appeared to be connected to his side, but Leia had quickly found that she liked Wedge. Now, though he was still more Luke’s friend than hers, Leia knew she could count on him, hence why she had asked him to stay. Sadly she couldn’t say the same for Han.

He was currently examining his fingernails, completely uninterested and bored. “Alright, Princess, chop chop. What’s this all about?”

Leia gave Han a steely glare and in an authoritative voice said, “A job offer. And if you want to get paid, I’d watch that tongue of yours. You two don’t have a choice.”

Wedge chuckled at that as Luke rolled his eyes. Her brother said, “You don’t have to pay Han to be here.”

“Now hold on Kid,” Han replied, “don’t discourage her or anything. What kind of job, Princess?”

Leia continued to glare at him.

“Alright, what kind of job… _sir_?”

She knew it was said condescendingly but she could deal with that if he stopped the ridiculous nickname. “It’s a job that will involve hours of research and an extremely high chance of breaking and entering.”

Han smirked. “I’ll skip the research half but breaking and entering? Sounds fun to me!”

“No, wait a second,” Luke quickly said. “Leia, what are you talking about? What could possibly require us to commit a felony?”

Leia let out a sigh. “Well for starters, I’m assuming all of you know that the other senator for our state is Sheev Palpatine.”

“Who?” asked Han.

“My god, do you pay attention to anything but yourself?”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked me here!” defended Han.

“You’re right,” Leia muttered and it sounded like saying the words had caused her physical pain. With another sigh, she continued. “Sheev Palpatine is one of the senators for our state. I hope you know that my mother is the other senator.”

Han shrugged. “Yeah, I knew.”

Sadly, Leia was fairly sure that was a lie but ignored it. “Anyways…my mother and Palpatine have been at odds for quite some time in the Senate. My mother does have some support, like my Godfather Bail and my Great Uncle Ono, but many of the other senators are either blind to Palpatine’s hypocritical ways or are in his pocket in one way or another. Palpatine has been involved with a number of illegal activities but he’s never been arrested and charges have never stuck.”

“So he’s a crooked politician, surprise surprise,” Han said sarcastically. “What’s that got do with us?”

“My mother has tried as many legal ways as she can think of to try and bring forth his corruption into public light. I’ve seen my mother in to much pain because of the man. I’ve decided it’s time this matter be put in someone else’s hands,” Leia responded. “And clearly legal proceedings don’t work on this man. I believe the only way to beat him is at his own game.”

Han laughed, sudden and loud. It made Leia want to strangle him.

“What? A bunch of kids going against a senator? This isn’t some movie,” laughed Han.

Leia stared him down and responded, “Kids?”

“What? I’m older than all of you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Leia replied sweetly. “It’s just so difficult to remember that when you act like a five year old.”

“Now listen here—”

“Guys! This is already sounding crazy enough without you two going at it!” cried Luke as he stepped in between them. “Leia, you can’t honestly expect us to take down a senator!”

“Of course not. Any information we gathered against him would be illegally attained. It wouldn’t hold up in a court of law,” Leia replied. It seemed that Luke had enough time to calm down before she added, “Instead , I’m planning on blackmail.”

Even Han finally managed to look a bit put off. “You think that’s a smart move Princess?”

Before Leia could respond, Wedge quickly said, “Palpatine is powerful. Trying to blackmail him would just put you in danger.”

“I plan on it,” Leia responded. “If any harm should come to me or anyone I care about, I’ll release anything and everything I find on him.”

“Now hold on one second,” Han said. “I thought you said that whatever you find wouldn’t hold up against him in a courtroom.”

“It wouldn’t, but his reputation would be ruined forever,” Leia replied. “He’d be out of the Senate before his term was even up. And if the information were to be anonymously released, then it would give authorities the incentive to look into matters further.”

“Then why not just release everything in the first place?” asked Luke.

“Because it’s easier to control a known politician than dealing with a possible wild card,” said Leia. “Of course, it’ll be up to our mother to decide what she does with what we find but ultimately—”

“Hold on,” Wedge quickly sighed with a wave of his hand. “You’re really going to tell Mrs. Amidala about this?”

“Well obviously not right now,” Leia replied. “She would be completely against the idea and if we kept it a secret, well…she would figure it out eventually is the point.”

Han shook his head. “Sadly, I have to agree. If there’s one thing your mom isn’t, it’s stupid. Haven’t known her long but she’ll figure something’s off pretty quickly.”

Leia raised an eyebrow at that but diverted her attention back to the group as a whole. “Obviously it will be at a later date when I discuss the finer points of this plan with all of you, and of course in a location where our parents don’t have the chance of walking in on us.”

Han snorted. “You act like I’ve already said yes to taking this insane job.”

“You have,” replied Leia.

“Sis,” Luke sighed, “you can’t honestly ask Han to do this. Job or not, it’s illegal. I don’t know if I’m even willing to do it!”

“Oh of course you will,” Leia responded as she wrapped an arm around her brother’s shoulders. “You’ll do it out of the goodness of your heart to help our mother, as will Wedge. Obviously Han doesn’t have a heart so I have to bribe him with money instead.”

Luke looked like he was about to protest but Han gave a sarcastic laugh before he could and replied, “Real funny you are. But guess what? You still haven’t said a price.”

Leia named one.

Wedge whistled and Luke gave his sister an incredulous look. Han just gave an approving nod. “Alright, I’m in. But I gotta ask, if you’re the brains, I’m the brawn, and Luke’s the beauty, what the hell is Wedge?”

Wedge’s face whipped around to face Han. “The point of me is that she can trust me unlike you, you unpredictable ass! If something happens, we all know you’ll be the first to run!”

Han shrugged. “Well yeah. I’m not here out of the goodness of my heart since I apparently don’t have one. But no, tell me Wedge. What exactly can you do? Besides poorly hold your liquor of course.”

“Oh and you can?!”

“You threw up in my lap!” Han yelled back.

Wedge gritted his teeth and clenched his hands. “You got in your car and purposely hit mine while wasted!”

“How could I purposely hit it if I was wasted?”

“Because you’re an asshole—”

“Will both of you shut up!” Leia’s voice broke through Wedge’s and Han’s bickering. What they’d been yelling about was when they’d first met each other. Neither had forgiven the other for their mistakes and somehow, whenever near each other, they managed to move the conversation back to arguing about that event. Normally, Leia would have walked off and let them shout it out but they were in her childhood home after all. “You can scream in each other’s faces later,” she muttered now that the room was silent. “Now, it’s time that Luke and I don’t keep the rest of our friends waiting. As far as Palpatine goes, I’ll contact both of you with a time and place when I figure out a more solid plan. Understood?”

Even Han managed to look somewhat offended after his yelling match with Wedge and nodded. The other muttered, “Sorry Leia.”

Leia let out an annoyed sigh. “Let’s just hurry up and go before one of my parents comes down expecting a homicide.”

Han and Wedge quickly separated once they were outside, hurrying off to their respective cars as Leia and Luke got in a shared one. Once inside, Leia gave a pointed look at her brother.

“What?” he asked. “I didn’t do anything.”

Leia shook her head. “If Han wasn’t going to be useful in this, I’d say I wished you two had never run into each other at college.”

“I’m sure you’ll still say it. And you can’t be serious about doing _this_ ,” Luke responded. “We just turned twenty-one! I’d rather not live the rest of my life in a jail cell.”

“Don’t be so over dramatic. It would be ten years at most.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t say that with such a serious voice,” sighed Luke.

“Well it is true,” Leia said.

“Doesn’t matter! This isn’t just some small time thing. What if something actually does go wrong? What if we come up with something and it doesn’t work and Palpatine finds we’re snooping around? What if we just make it worse for Mom rather than better?” Luke got out in one long huff of breath.

“If we don’t do something then who will?”

“Um, _authorities_ ,” cried Luke.

 Leia shook her head. “I wish. But Palpatine has gathered to much influence. Perhaps if someone had cut him off at the beginning…but it’s to late for that. We need to find something huge, something that would make even his closest supporters stand up and ask for his resignation. We need something that will make him realize his mortality.”

“And if we don’t find anything? If mom hasn’t dredged up anything, then what makes you think we could?”

“Because we’ll be going through routes she hasn’t tried before.”

Luke tiredly rubbed his face. “Mom won’t approve. Neither will Father. Though I’m sure our Dad will love it.”

“Yes, Father certainly won’t approve,” Leia said. She could already imagine Obi-Wan having a conniption over the entire thing only to drag them both into a hug and repeatedly ask if they were alright. He’d probably then blame Anakin’s influence for the incident, not that he’d be wrong, but… “You know our Mother hasn’t always been on the straight and narrow. She knows how to play a dirty card when needed.”

Luke looked over, somewhat confused.

Leia sighed. “I forget that you usually zone out the moment you hear the word politics. But the point is, our Mom understands that the law protects innocents but it can also protect criminals and sometimes, to expose those criminals, you have to go against the system. She’s done it before on the rare moments that such actions were needed.”

“Then why hasn’t she done it with Palpatine?” countered Luke.

“Because she can’t afford to make a mistake. Palpatine would latch onto the smallest misdemeanor and drag her through the dust for it,” Leia replied. “Believe me, I understand that this sounds like a crazy solution but sometimes crazy is all we got. It’s either this or just wait for the man to die and at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he succeeded in outliving us all.”

Luke snorted. “I suppose evil does help you live longer. Hell doesn’t even want him.”

She actually laughed at that. “There’s no such thing as true evil and even Palpatine isn’t that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s met the Devil and the creature’s spit him back out.”

Luke grinned at that, his laughter matching his sister’s. Nevertheless, when he stopped, he did give his sister a pointed look and said, “Still, I really don’t like how you’ve brought Han into all of this.”

“Why? He’s the most willing.”

“Yeah, because he wants to do it for all the wrong reasons! You know, he’s stopped smuggling booze to under aged students, right?” he replied.

“He’s probably just doing it behind your back,” she countered.

“He’s not! You know, he’s even got a proper job. He’s not like that anymore,” Luke defended.

However, Leia didn’t appear impressed. “What job? I bet you fifty dollars that it’s a front and somehow Lando Calrissian is involved too. You just put to much faith into Han,” she sighed.

“And you put to little,” responded Luke. “He’s a good guy. He just needs some direction.”

“And you’re just stuck on giving that to him,” sighed Leia. “From the moment I met him, I’ve known he’s a crook. Why can’t you see that too?”

“Because he’s not just a crook! You said it yourself, there’s no such thing as pure evil. Han isn’t purely a crook!”

“You’re right. He’s a coward too,” responded Leia.

“He just needs the right push.”

Leia shook her head. “Are you forgetting that time he cheated off of you in class, when he still even went to class, and then got you in trouble for it? Hmm?”

“That was at the beginning, and anyways, have you forgotten when I nearly got mugged and Han immediately jumped in to help? There sure as hell was no gain for him in that but he did it anyways. How is that cowardice?”

“Oh.”

“Oh what?” asked Luke suspiciously.

“You have a crush on him! Of course, how could I not see it before?”

“I do not!” The blush that rose to his cheeks seemed to state otherwise.

“I can’t believe you fell for his stupid charm,” sighed Leia.

“I didn’t,” Luke whined.

“So have you told him?” asked Leia.

“I don’t have a crush on Han.”

“So you haven’t told him.”

“It’s not like that Leia. He’s just my—”

“Luke, you need to see past this crush and—”

“I’m interested in someone else!”

Leia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Who?”

“No one…of course. I just uh…shouted that out to…well you know…get you to stop…?”

Leia shook her head. Ignoring Luke’s poor excuse, she asked, “How long?”

“I mean…not long…not there is anyone but well…”

“So long,” Leia replied, reading between his words. “I can’t believe you haven’t told me. You’ve always been one for gushing over your crushes. Who is it?”

“No one you would know.”

“So one of our friends,” Leia nodded.

“Are you just hearing the opposite of everything I’m saying?” asked Luke.

“Don’t say the opposite of what you mean,” Leia responded. “It’s harder to lie if you do. So, one of my friends or one of yours? I’m assuming one of yours.”

Luke didn’t say anything.

“Hmm, normally silence is harder to read but you’re my twin. I’m going to go with one of your friends. Now, who could it be? Of course it depends on if it’s more because of looks or personality. If it’s personality, then it’s probably a closer friend and you’re not one to purely focus on looks so—”

“Can you please just drop it Leia?”

She gave a sidelong glance towards her brother. She waited a few moments, weighing the pros and cons in her head, before finally sighing and nodding. “Alright, you win. But only for now.”

“Thank you,” Luke murmured, finally relaxing again. “What a birthday…”

“Hey, I won’t interrogate you for the rest of the night,” Leia responded, “and our birthday isn’t over yet.”

Luke simply nodded.

“Hey, if Han is even still coming, I promise I won’t nag on him either.”

“So you’ll avoid him.”

“Hey, it’ll mean no fighting between us,” Leia responded.

“That is true,” sighed Luke.

Leia glanced at her brother again. “Hey, I promise I won’t nag you about this mystery person either, alright?”

“I doubt it.”

“At least for the night I won’t.”

“That sounds a bit more reasonable,” chuckled Luke, a smile finally coming back to his face.

Leia smiled in return and did just that, keeping her lips shut about the whole thing. Nevertheless, her mind couldn’t help but wonder who it could be. Luke never kept silent about a crush, especially to her, which now likely meant one of two things. Either the crush was more than a crush or he thought Leia wouldn’t approve of it. She was guessing the first one since the only person she really wouldn’t approve of was Han and Luke had adamantly denied that.

Still, she kept her promise about not mentioning it again that night, but as part of her mind focused on the moment and another part began to meticulously plan out what to do with Palpatine, still another part looked for the person that had to have caught her brother’s eye. The person had to be there, but who was it?


	3. Three Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to everyone who's reading this and hope you enjoy :)

Leia woke up the morning after a little tired but mostly well rested. She walked over and pulled open the blinds.

She and Luke shared a small apartment on the other side of the city near to the college they both attended. It allowed for some dependency and privacy they hadn’t had at home and made it much easier when going to school as it was only fifteen minutes away rather than the two to three hours that could happen, especially if traffic was bad.

Last night had been enjoyable, a perfect end to her twenty-first birthday, and Wedge and Han had successfully avoided each other for most of the night so there hadn’t been a fight between them. Still, the celebrating was over with and Leia had to figure out a battle plan on how to dig up something on Palpatine. She had already been researching for an hour when Luke finally got out of bed and came into the kitchen.

To be perfectly honest, she was surprised he was up that early. He had his entire comforter wrapped around him and resembled something closer to a caterpillar than a human at the moment.

“Hangover?” smirked Leia.

Luke groaned in response.

“How many beers did you have?”

“Two…”

Leia rolled her eyes. “Come on. Sit down. I’ll get you some water.”

She went to their tiny kitchen and poured him a glass. Upon turning around, she saw that Luke had sat and had his face pressed against the table. All one could see was the comforter now. Leia fondly patted the mound and set the glass on the table. She went back to her laptop, typing away for a good thirty minutes before Luke finally moved again, his head peeking up from underneath the comforter.

“What are you doing?” he muttered as a hand slipped out and grabbed the glass of water.

“Trying to find key points in time where Palpatine allegedly did something illegal.”

Luke let out a groan that wasn’t entirely caused by the hangover. “You’re still on about this?”

“What? Did you think it would disappear in the morning?”

“No but I was hoping it would,” sighed Luke. He stared at Leia for a moment, waiting to see if she would respond to anything, but when she didn’t, Luke added, “So, what should I do?”

“Get over the hangover first,” she said kindly. “Then I’ll explain it to you.”

Luke nodded and then moved himself and the comforter to their small two person couch and immediately fell back asleep. Leia chuckled softly before going back to her research. She began to make a timeline of Palpatine’s known movements and had made a fairly accurate one from his beginning days in the politician field to his first term as governor when Luke woke up again and came over. It was midday and the sun was streaming in, bright and clear. Luke rubbed his eyes tiredly before sitting in front of Leia again.

“So what exactly are you doing?” he mumbled.

“Creating a timeline of all known movements made by Palpatine.”

“What do you expect to find?”

“Well, nothing,” Leia responded. “If to catch this man all you had to do was go on the internet, then he’d already be in jail. This will just give me key points to look for when we get into his private accounts and property.”

Luke groaned. “We’re going to jail for sure.”

“Hush, not with me at the helm. Now, help me finish this timeline. I don’t want to overlook anything,” Leia replied.

Luke obliged and they successfully finished it around five. At that point, Leia said, “Alright, call Wedge and Han. See if they can come over now. I think I know how we’re going to do this.”

“Got it,” Luke replied.

Soon, both Wedge and Han had arrived. Han had sat at the small table and immediately propped his feet up, seeming to grin all the wider at Leia’s narrowed eyes. Wedge sat down on the couch and Luke quickly joined him. Leia walked over and grabbed her laptop, made sure to roughly shove Han’s legs off the table, and then sat in the living room chair so that she could see all of them.

“Alright, so there are several places that could provide us with confidential information. One is Palpatine’s office in Allentown, his city home of the same place, and his main home in Dunnstown,” Leia said. “Now, despite what you may think, his office will be the easiest to get into. Granted, it will probably have the least information of illegal wrongdoings, if any, but I’d rather not leave any stone unturned.”

Han rather purposely put his feet back on the table to get Leia’s attention and asked, “How the hell is getting into his office going to be easier?”

“I’ve been to it plenty of times and my mother has her own office which is quite similar in many aspects. I know where the cameras are, the kind of security that they have, their hours, and when and who is most likely to work overtime,” Leia responded. “Han, I’ll need your help in breaking in at some point after hours. I’ll give you all the information I have on their systems and the patterns and I’ll trust you to make an entrance and exit strategy.”

“Oh, so you trust me now Princess?” asked Han with a smirk.

“Only as far as I can throw you,” Leia said. Without missing a beat, she turned to Wedge and asked, “Can you create some form of malware that will allow you to access all files on his computer?”

“Depends on the securities he has in place,” Wedge replied.

At the same time that he said that, Han said, “So that’s your job! You’re our little geek! How _cute_.”

Wedge was up on his feet in seconds. Luke grabbed a hold of him with the full intent of keeping him there. However, Leia knew Wedge. Though he wasn’t that tall or built, he knew how to use his stature to his advantage and in seconds, he could easily throw himself at Han and probably do some damage if needed no matter how hard Luke might hold him or Han might fight in response.

Leia’s brain raced and she quickly grabbed the two closest items. One was a pillow that she lopped at Wedge’s head and the other was a book that she threw at Han’s gut.

Whereas Wedge just jolted, shocked by the sudden projectile, Han gave an honest gasp as he doubled over.

“Shit! What was that for!?”

“I don’t care where or when you fight or if you even fight at all,” Leia responded, still sitting. “But you will not do any of that while you are here. Understand?”

Once again, that guilty and bashful look came across Wedge’s face as he looked down, very similar to the one he had worn yesterday when fighting with Han at her childhood home. Leia noted how her brother’s hand slipped into Wedge’s but quickly turned her attention to Han who was speaking.

“Fine. It’s your home,” Han muttered, still doubled over. “Damn that was a good throw.”

Leia’s eyebrows shot up and she was thankful Han was still facing the floor. His words hadn’t been rude or condescending in anyway. He had sounded impressed like she’d thrown a curveball in baseball and saved the game, not just knocked him breathless with a book.

“Man, and good aim too. I think you broke a rib.”

Leia rolled her eyes, her shock going away as she muttered, “Don’t be so melodramatic. But there is ice in the fridge if you need that.”

Han just nodded and took a few deep breaths before finally sitting up straight again. He huffed, “Alright, so first we hit the office. Wedge does his computer crap, I’m guessing we take pictures of all files and docs, then we get out. After that, it’s the city home. What are we going to do about that?”

“We’ll stake it out, try to gather as much information as we can on the place. If we can figure out the kind of security system he has, it should make it easier and hopefully there won’t be a security detail there when nobody is home,” Leia replied. “The same goes for his countryside home.”

“Okay, well, let’s focus on the office then. When are we planning on breaking in?” asked Han.

Leia was a bit surprised by the willingness that Han was now exuding but she certainly wasn’t going to argue. Perhaps she should hit him more often. “It’s difficult to say. We’ll have to wait to see if Wedge can find a way to get into the computer system.”

“I won’t be able to make an accurate plan if I don’t have a set time and date,” Han argued.

“Perhaps not but you can become familiar with the layout of the building so that when it comes time to plan, you’ll be able to do it more easily,” said Leia.

“So basically plan for anything,” muttered Han.

“Well if you put it like that…”

Han shook his head. “Still think this is insane and feels like fiction. But hey! You want to go to jail, fine. Be my guest.”

Luke gave Leia a pointed look and she rolled her eyes in response. “We won’t. I promise you that. This isn’t going to be a rushed job. This will be slow, methodical, I want to take Palpatine down but I’m not going to take unnecessary risks.”

“That it?” asked Han.

“For now,” she said.

“Then I will take my leave Princess. Get me those schematics I’ll start figuring something out. Anything else?”

“That’s all,” Leia repeated, like she was dismissing a trooper.

“Alright, Luke, don’t forget we’re flying tomorrow. See you then Kid.”

With that, Han was getting up and leaving. He did a mocking salute to them before walking out. The door closed behind him with a loud thud.

Immediately, Wedge was up and pacing. “I can’t stand _him_. If he wasn’t here for a purpose…”

Wedge let the unfinished threat hang as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Luke got up and put a comforting arm around his friend. However, he didn’t say anything, which Leia thought was fairly wise, and just rubbed soothing circles into his back.

After a few moments, Luke finally asked, “Hey, doing anything else tonight?”

“Well no…”

“Come on, there’s this movie I’ve been wanting to see.”

“I don’t know…”

“It’ll be fun. I promise,” Luke said. Leia noted the puppy eyes that he threw in Wedge’s direction as well.

The young man sighed. “What movie-wait. You know what? Who cares. Let’s just go. Yeah, why not?”

“Great! I’ll go get ready!” Suddenly Luke had bounded off and Leia and Wedge were left alone.

Leia stood up and approached Wedge with a gentle smile. “Sorry for throwing the pillow at you,” she said.

“No, don’t be. I…he just pisses me off so much,” muttered Wedge.

“Don’t worry. It’s completely understandable,” Leia replied. “Still, I am curious exactly why you hate each other so much.”

“How could I not?” groaned Wedge.

“Well obviously I understand what happened between you two when you first met,” said Leia with a roll of her eyes, “but if you would just apologize, Han probably would too and this would be water under the bridge. I know you. You’re not petty enough to care about who apologizes first so why haven’t you?”

“It’s…more complicated than that.”

“Wedge, you’re one of the most straightforward thinking people I know. You think of things to logically to see them as complicated.”

“Yeah, well this situation is,” he muttered.

Leia shook her head. “Tell me how it’s complicated then. Perhaps I can help.”

“I…trying to say it now…it seems so stupid but I just…I feel like Luke is replacing me as his best friend or—”

Wedge cut himself off upon seeing Luke coming out of his room. Leia noted that her brother was oblivious to any discomfort Wedge seemed to be feeling and just grinned at them. “Alright, all ready to go. Leia, you want to come to?”

“I’ll leave the fun for you two. I need to double check all my research.”

“Of course you do,” her brother chuckled. “I’ll see you later then. Come on Wedge.”

Wedge followed but quickly turned back to Leia, adding, “Um…if you can get me what kind of security Palpatine has on his computer, requirements for his passwords, things like that uh…it would be really helpful.”

“I’ll gather what I can and I’ll get it to you as soon as possible,” Leia agreed. “Have fun.”

Wedge just nodded and Luke continued to remain seemingly blind to his friend’s continued discomfort.

Leia wondered if she should mention something to Luke. Though Wedge hadn’t asked her not to say anything, it wasn’t like he’d been given enough time to do just that. Nevertheless, Leia at least could now make sense of why Han and Wedge went at it so often. Han was to prideful to back down and admit any wrong doings and Wedge was jealous.

Really, it made perfect sense. For the longest time, Wedge had been a constant friend to Luke. They played together, defended each other, confided in each other, just about everything. They had both decided to become pilots at the same time as well and what with Wedge being their age, it meant nearly all of their classes were together once they got into college. With Wedge’s daring and love for exploration, he had brought the adventure that Luke’s daydreaming needed. They fit.

But then of course Han had showed up, older and charming and even more daring and rule breaking along with just enough good that made it seem like reformation was possible, and it seemed that after that, Wedge’s time with Luke had been cut in half.

Part of Leia felt that Wedge just needed to understand that people got new friends, sometimes closer friends, but she was fairly sure that he did know this. It was the jealousy that was making it difficult for him to see that.

If she could have a say in any of it, she would have just pushed Han out and stuck Wedge back into his proper spot. However, that wasn’t her choice and for the moment, it seemed that there wasn’t much that could be done or said that could help the situation. For the moment, both Han and Wedge were Luke’s friend and either they’d have to learn to deal with each other or one would be driven away. The latter was certainly more appealing if it involved getting rid of Han.

Still, the man had been tolerable that evening. Though Leia was fairly sure it was because of the promise of money, he’d certainly been easier to deal with and almost a bit dorky as well.

Leia didn’t allow herself to think much on that though. She wouldn’t let herself fall so easily for Han’s charms.

With that in mind, Leia went back to double checking Palpatine’s timeline. She was still up when Luke got back and remained awake, wanting to make sure she didn’t miss a single detail.

In the coming weeks, Leia asked her mother about the security that she had on her computer along with the standard proceedings for most senators. This didn’t raise any warnings as Leia had often discussed odd and strangely specific aspects of political life with her mother. Padmé was only to willing to give the information over to Leia and she passed the necessary parts to Wedge or Han and educated Luke on everything.

With the plan becoming more of a reality, Leia’s thoughts of Wedge’s jealously and Han’s increasing willingness were pushed to the back of her mind. She decided that all of that would be addressed once the job was done. However, as the first step in her plan grew closer and closer, it seemed that both trains of thought would be dragged to the forefront of her mind whether she wanted them to or not.


	4. The Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone again! I hope you enjoy.

Midterms had just finished and with that task done, Leia had time to give an exact date for when they would break into Palpatine’s office. It would be the second Tuesday of that month and the group of four were gathered once again.

Han laid out the final plan for breaking in, which cameras to avoid, the doors that would need to be picked, how the security would be tripped, the best ways to avoid that, and the estimated time that it would take for all the steps to be completed. Leia had to say it was rather impressive. Wedge had also created a program and showed them a simulation of how it would work.

“Alright,” Han said after Wedge showed it off. “So I’ll go in there, boot up the computer and—”

“We’ll go in there,” Leia corrected him.

“Uh, since when?” asked Han.

“Since always. You expect me to trust you to do this alone?”

“Well it’s not like I planned for two—”

“Would your plan not work if two people went in?” Leia asked.

“No but—”

“Perfect, then I am going with you,” Leia restated, her voice firm and leaving no room for argument. “Luke and Wedge, you’ll wait in the car and keep an eye out to see if anyone unexpectedly comes in late.”

“Got it,” said Wedge and Luke nodded in understanding.

“Alright,” Leia murmured, “so first things first. We’ll park over here out of the way of…”

 She went into detail, combining everything that she knew to form the scheme. Ultimately, the goal was to go in and out undetected. The biggest issue with that were the cameras. Even if they didn’t leave any trace of tampering and put everything back where they found it, there would still be a recording of them going in and out. Many of the cameras were avoidable but not all and if they blocked out the ones they couldn’t avoid, then the guards would know someone had to have blocked them in the first place.

Because of that, Leia had made sure to schedule it on a stormy night. The worst storm of that year was supposed to be occurring and no one would think twice if the power went down for a moment. During that short time of darkness, Leia and Han would have to get to Palpatine’s office. Thankfully, there wasn’t a camera in Palpatine’s office, not an accident but likely a purposeful move to ensure that any private conversations weren’t recorded or overheard.

Once they were in and the power was back on, Leia and Han would start up Palpatine’s main computer. Hopefully, as Wedge remotely hacked it, they would go through any material items, taking pictures of everything.

In the days approaching the break in, Leia repeatedly reminded the other three of every little detail. She could tell that it annoyed the others but she didn’t want anything to go wrong. She had to make sure every little detail had been thought of, at least all the ones that were in her power.

They met up at about five o’clock in the evening the night of the plan. After Leia went through everything for the umpteenth time, Han finally interrupted her.

“Okay, I think we got it. Now, for my contribution,” Han said. He leaned over and grabbed a duffle bag that he had brought with him. Leia had been curious of its contents but hadn’t asked. Now it seemed that she was going to find out. Han unzipped it and pulled out several items, all of which he threw at Leia.

Raising an eyebrow, Leia looked at them. There was a beanie, a turtleneck, and gloves, all black.

“Really?” she asked.

“Hey, if you’re coming in with me, you gotta make sure you won’t be seen. All black helps,” Han replied in a tone that implied she should have obviously thought of it. However, his voice did grow a bit more hushed and embarrassed as he continued, “Uh…hope it all uh…fits. Kind of just estimated on the sizes you know and stuff.”

It was tempting to laugh but Leia held it in. She was fairly sure that what she saw was a moment of vulnerability for Han so Leia nodded instead. “Well, thank you then.”

“No prob,” he muttered. He coughed and added in a clearer voice, “Alright, so we got two hours left before we head out. Everybody eaten?”

Luke laughed. “Is that important?”

“Hey, never work on an empty stomach,” Han responded with a stern look. He looked around, looking less like a troublemaker and more like a father looking at his children. “You guys have eaten?”

Wedge and Leia shook their heads. Luke said, “Well, no…”

“Alright, time for dinner then,” replied Han, jumping up before anyone could argue. “What do you guys got in here? I’m guessing utter junk.”

“Are you kidding? Leia would never allow that,” Luke said.

Leia didn’t say anything, still a bit thrown by the sight of Han Solo going through her kitchen. Luke asked, “What are you doing?”

“I told you. Making dinner. Now, let’s see what’s in the fridge…”

Under any normal circumstances, Leia would have yelled at Han for going through her private things without even asking. As it stood, she was still trying to wrap her head around it. For a moment, herself, Luke, and Wedge just stared as Han slowly became familiar with the small area and then began dragging out item after item.

Leia finally managed to drag herself out of her stupor and got up. She walked over to Han and continued to stare as he examined two tomatoes. Eventually, her mouth seemed to work and she asked, “What are you doing?”

“Why do you guys keep asking me that?” snorted Han. “Did that question just get stuck in your head? Hey! Antilles! Try saying something. Let’s see if it’s spread.”

“You’re an ass,” Wedge deadpanned without hesitation.

“Hmm, maybe it’s genetic,” Han replied. The comment earned a hard hit from Leia. “Hey, keep hitting me and I’m only feeding your brother. And I guess Wedge too. He’s been tolerable enough.”

Wedge gave Han a bug-expression but Leia mostly ignored that. She crossed her arms and asked, “I’m being completely serious. What is this?”

“Well that’s a tomato and that’s a leak—”

“I know what those are blast it all! It is my kitchen. What I’m getting at is…why?” she got out.

Han gave her a perplexed look. “Because if I didn’t do anything, you lot probably wouldn’t eat anything. And yeah, I get nerves but it’s never a good idea to do something like this on an empty stomach.”

“So you decided that you’d cook?” asked Leia incredulously.

“Why not?” asked Han.

Leia opened her mouth to give several protests. If she really thought about it, there were plenty of good reasons to get onto Han for what he was doing, but she didn’t. Though she didn’t like to admit it, even mentally, she supposed that she had never seen Han like this because she was rarely around Han. Though she noted Luke’s still remaining shock (meaning Han probably didn’t do things like this often) Leia still had to admit that maybe she had mislabeled Han. Perhaps he wasn’t a complete coward and thief, though she certainly wouldn’t let this instance change her entire view of him.

“Alright,” she said slowly, “what are you making then?”

Han took her through the process and finally Luke and Wedge seemed to snap out of it and headed over. For the next two hours before the heist would occur, a strange occurrence happened as Han directed the twins and Wedge in making soup. He used what he could find and there didn’t seem much rhyme or reason for what he dropped in the pot. Nevertheless, when it came time to eat, everyone surprisingly enjoyed it.

There were no shortage of jokes and comments about Han trying to poison them, but there was no doubt that it was actually good and for a split second, it was easy to forget that they were getting ready to break in to a senator’s office.

Afterwards, that fact immediately came back though when Leia momentarily left and then came back with what Han had gotten her. She had found a pair of black pants and shoes and had added them to the turtleneck and gloves while the hat remained in her hands. They actually fit rather well.

“You look like you’re about to rob a bank,” snorted Luke.

“I’d hit you if I didn’t agree with you. This is necessary?” Leia said.

Han nodded. “Totally. Why do you think I’m all in black?”

Leia rolled her eyes but didn’t argue the fact as the group put away bowls and utensils to turn to their tools for the job. They moved what little they hadn’t already dragged to hers and Luke’s car. With everything ready, they got in and headed out into the night.

It was nearing one in the morning and normally, there still would have been the bustle of the nightlife in the city, but besides being a weekday the storm had driven most into their homes. The cars were few and they didn’t pass anyone on the streets. The winds were reaching dangerous levels and besides the rain made it difficult to see.

“I just hope the power doesn’t actually go out,” muttered Wedge halfway through the journey.

Leia silently agreed. There would be no way to get the information from the computer if that happened.

Most of the journey was in silence as Luke drove, fighting the wind every second of the way. Once they stopped at the designated location, Leia finally pulled the beanie Han had gotten her over her head. Before they left the car, Han’s hand moved forward and brushed a few stray strands under the hat.

“Just in case,” he shrugged.

Leia noted the occurrence to examine later but didn’t say anything. They were on a set time now. They couldn’t afford to dawdle.

“Alright Wedge, you got the walkie-talkie ready?” asked Leia.

“Yep. Count of three and then the power will be down,” he replied.

Leia nodded and then turned to Han. “Come on, let’s hurry.”

They rushed out of the car, combating the weather as they arrived at the backside of the building. The back door was locked through a keycard so once the power went off, it would be opened to them. Leia signaled Wedge and then the countdown began.

“Three…two…one!”

As the power went out and the emergency lights came on, Leia and Han rushed in. Though Han had memorized the layouts, Leia lead the way anyways, heading toward the stairwell and up towards Palpatine’s office at a breakneck speed. Knowing how security would move and the paths they would take in such an event, Leia succeeded in guiding them away from all personnel. They arrived at Palpatine’s office doors and Han whipped out his lock picking tools.

“Thirty seconds,” murmured Leia.

Han grunted in response and just focused on the lock. Finally it clicked and Leia and Han rushed into the room just in time. The door closed and the power was back. Leia didn’t allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief though as she headed to the computer and booted it up. Through the walkie-talkie, she followed Wedge’s instructions and once it was all in Wedge’s hands, Leia moved to the filing cabinets with Han where each one held a flashlight. They took out each file one by one, photographed them, and then put each one back where they found it.

Then the lights went off.

“Shit,” muttered Han.

Leia pulled out the walkie-talkie. “Wedge, was that you?”

“No, power’s gone out on this entire block,” replied Wedge.

It was odd but either Wedge was out of breath or their communication was messing up. Either way, Leia did ask and simply continued with, “Did you get what you needed?”

“I believe so. There isn’t anything else I can do unless the power pops back on though.”

Leia sighed. “Alright, we’ll be out soon. We just have to finish going through everything.”

“Got it. We’ll be waiting,” replied Wedge.

Silence quickly returned as Leia went back to work. Han didn’t say anything and simply continued his job. Once all the major files and cabinets had been checked, Leia went through the desk, careful in remembering where every little detail went.

“Hey, Princess, we almost done?” whispered Han.

“Hold on,” she murmured. After a few moments, Leia finally came up from under the desk. Now just thinking of the idea of a hidden drawer made her feel stupid, but she had at least tried. Now standing, she checked the time. A guard should have just passed by their area. However, with the power out, the guards could have changed their routine. “Come on.”

Leia walked over to the door and leaned her head against it. She didn’t hear anything and tentatively opened it. No one was there so she quickly slipped out with Han right behind her after he locked the door again.

The emergency lights made odd shadows over everything as they made their way to the nearest stairwell. However, before they could reach it, Leia heard noises and quickly grabbed Han in response and pulled him into the nearest unlocked door.

“You know—”

Leia cut him off by covering his mouth with one of her hands. They both listened intently as footsteps were heard. Even when the person passed by them and the footsteps began to recede, they both remained frozen for a good thirty seconds.

Finally, Leia allowed her fingers to relax and her arm to fall at her side. She sighed in relief just as Han began again, “You know if you wanted to get in such snug quarters Princess, you could have asked.”

“Save it for when we’re out of here,” muttered Leia. Slowly she opened the door, looked back and forth, then grabbed Han’s hand and pulled him out. “Let’s hope no one is in the stairwell.”

Both rushed to the stairwell where they once again paused after opening the door, listening for anyone who could be moving beneath them. Thankfully they heard nothing and Han quietly closed the door behind them as they then rushed down the stairs. There was still the constant fear of the power coming back as they moved. Of course, they would be given a few extra seconds as the cameras warmed up but there weren’t many places to hide in a stairwell. Their only hope was to get out in time.

Eventually, they got to the back door and rushed out. Immediately the wind grabbed at them and the rain pelted them, sharp and unrelenting.

Before Leia could do or say anything, Han had pulled off his jacket and used it to shield both of them as they rushed to the car, a task made even more difficult because of the power outage. They tumbled into the backseat and fought the wind as they slammed the door shut.

Leia leaned over and shook her head. “We better get home before this gets worse.”

“Worse?” snorted Han. “The only way that could happen is if a tornado happens.”

“Well, let’s hope you didn’t just jinx us all,” sighed Leia. Now that she could relax, it would have been so easy to fall asleep then and there.

Except for the moment she realized that she’d been leaning against Han.

She shot upwards and Han seemed to finally realize what had exactly happened. He looked equally embarrassed and looked down. “Uh…it’s like nearly three in the morning. Makes sense that you’re tired,” he mumbled.

Leia just nodded. She turned to the front, expecting her brother to be looking at them. Instead, he was very much facing straight forward in his seat, as was Wedge, and both were very red faced. Perhaps if something more risqué had just occurred, she could understand it, but all that had happened was she had leaned against Han for a moment too long. Thus, whatever was causing the redness in their cheeks hadn’t been caused by Leia or Han.

“Ready?” asked Luke, hands on the wheel and ready. His voice was oddly clipped and monotone.

“Sure…” Leia said slowly, “Luke are you—”

“Okay, then let’s get home,” Luke interrupted.

Leia frowned but just nodded. What should have been a pleasant ride filled with feelings of success turned somewhat awkward as Leia tried to figure out what exactly had occurred between Luke and Wedge. Han didn’t even make a joke about it which honestly showed just how tense it was.

The moment they stopped at Leia’s and Luke’s apartment, it was clear Wedge was going to jump ship, and Han as well, so Leia only had a few moments to stop them.

“Hey, you aren’t leaving, are you?” Leia asked, looking pointedly at both Wedge and Han.

“Well my car is here…” murmured Wedge.

Han tried, “Yeah and I gotta—”

“Not in this weather. Even if it wasn’t this bad, it’s nearly four in the morning. I don’t want either of you falling asleep behind the wheel,” Leia replied. “You’re both coming inside.”

“Are you sure?” Han said.

“There’s really no need,” replied Wedge.

“I insist. And if either of you argue the fact, I’ll drag you both inside myself. Now let’s hurry before we get blown away,” Leia responded.

They quickly grabbed everything and Leia led them inside. The movement helped to break up the tension as everyone had something to do. However, the moment they were inside, that awkwardness seemed to fall over everyone again. The three young men all stood near the door, dripping onto the floor as both Han and Wedge looked ready to bolt and Luke appeared ready to go hide in his bedroom.

Leia just rolled her eyes at the trio and quickly grabbed some towels. “Here, bathroom is right over there. Luke, go grab some cloths for them to change in to.”

Her brother gave her a bug-eyed expression.

“I’m not having either of them sleep in wet clothes or nude so just go grab some cloths, alright? It’s not like they’re going to fit my size,” Leia sighed. She really wanted to just come out and ask what the hell had happened but with everyone sleep deprived and probably still jittery over what they had just done, she doubted it was a good idea.

Luke walked off to grab the clothes as Leia went to her own room to get out of her wet ones. She grabbed a pair of shorts and pulled on an oversized t-shirt before walking back out and going through the little hall closet for extra blankets and pillows. Walking to the living room, she laid out a sheet over the couch as Han came out of the bathroom and Wedge quickly switched with him. Han was wearing only shorts but Leia wasn’t surprised. She doubted one of Luke’s shirts would have fit him anyways.

“Uh, I told Wedge I’d sleep on the floor,” Han said as he awkwardly leaned over to grab some of the blankets. “Um…do you know um…what happened?”

Leia shook her head with a sigh. “No idea. Luke in his room?”

“Already retired,” Han replied.

“Well we won’t get anything out of him tonight,” Leia muttered. “Just try not to press any of Wedge’s buttons.”

“Hey, as much as I love riling that kid up, I can tell that now is not the time,” Han whispered back with a shake of his head.

At that moment, Wedge came back out of the bathroom in one of Luke’s shirts and a pair of shorts. He stood by the door, unsure whether to move forward or not as he hugged himself.

“You guys know where everything is,” Leia said, “so if you get hungry or thirsty or anything tonight or when you wake up, help yourself. And there are two more blankets in the closet if you guys get cold. Need anything else?”

Both Han and Wedge shook their heads.

“Alright, I’ll leave you both to it then,” Leia said with a small nod. She turned to leave and then paused to quickly add, “…thank you both. I know it’s not like either of you just willing volunteered but…thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Wedge murmured, his mind clearly not in the moment and stuck on something else.

“Hey, no problem Princess. It was kind of fun,” Han replied. For once, the nickname didn’t sound patronizing and all Leia could get from his tone was honesty.

Leia simply nodded and headed into her room. There was still the urge to run into her brother’s and shake him awake, what the hell could have happened between him and Wedge, but she restrained herself as exhaustion finally seemed to take her.

With rain pelting against her window and the wind howling, Leia fell asleep.


	5. Misunderstandings and Reconciliations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you as always! We've reached the half way mark and believe me when I say it kills me being unable to just sit down and churn out chapter after chapter. Hopefully you like this one though and I'll get the next one out as soon as possible. A big thank you again!

When Leia finally rolled over to look at her clock, she saw that it was about eleven thirty in the morning. She rubbed at her eyes as she contemplated remaining in bed. However, she needed to go through the information they had gotten last night so she dragged herself up and stretched.

Looking outside, she could see the aftereffects of the storm, branches and leaves and trash strewn everywhere with pools of water still flowing down the side of the street.

Normally, Leia would have gotten dressed but she doubted she’d be going anywhere that day. Instead, she remained in her sleepwear and padded out and into the kitchen where she started a pot of coffee. As it warmed up, she glanced at the living room and frowned at what she saw. Wedge was gone and Han had moved from the floor to the couch.

Leia thought about questioning him on what had happened but decided to let him sleep for a moment longer. Instead, she started making herself breakfast, grabbed her coffee, and then sat down at the little kitchen table. She pulled open her laptop and began downloading all the photos Han and her had taken the night before.

Han snored softly on, shifting every now and then as Leia moved from document to document. As she suspected, there was little to latch onto but there were still hundreds of documents she had yet to look at and the computer files as well. Not allowing herself to become deterred, she drudged through the pointless words and lack of anything that could benefit her.

After about thirty minutes had passed, Han finally stopped snoring and let out several unintelligible noises. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. Looking over to her, Han asked, “You already getting to work?”

Leia nodded, still focusing more so on the document in front of her.

“Do you ever take a break?”

“Only when the job is done.”

Han shook his head and walked over. He searched through the cabinets before finally finding a mug. Pouring coffee into it, Han then sat across from Leia.

Once she found a good stopping point, Leia allowed her attention to drift to Han and she asked, “What happened to Wedge?”

“He got up at nine thirty-one and left.”

“How do you know the exact time?” asked Leia.

“Because he kicked me in the face trying to get out of here.”

Leia snorted.

“Hey! It hurt alright? Though if it’s any consolation to him, I honestly don’t think he did it on purpose,” Han sighed.

“Did he give anything else away before you both fell asleep? Perhaps confided in you?” Leia questioned.

Han laughed, loud and hard. “Confided in me?! You’re kidding.”

“It was worth a shot,” she sighed. “I still have no idea what happened.”

“Well you’re not alone in that,” Han said as he sipped at his coffee.

“Were you able to read anything from Luke’s face?” Leia continued.

“If his own twin couldn’t get something out of him, what makes you think I could?”

“Worth a try. I’ve never seen him so closed off before,” murmured Leia. Except of course on the subject of that one illusive crush. Before she could analyze that thought any farther though, Han had started talking again.

“So, you got plans today?”

“Analyzing the information.”

“How about I help?”

“Seriously?”

“What? With how Wedge left, I doubt he’s going to be back anytime soon. And what with how easy it is for Luke to conk out and sleep for hours on end, he’s not going to be of much help today either,” replied Han with a shrug. “Might as well do my money’s worth.”

“Of course,” sighed Leia. “Well…here let’s do this.”

As the minutes passed, Leia came to an odd conclusion. Her and Han worked surprisingly well together. Yes, he had plenty of useless commentary to spit out and certainly had some trouble understanding the political jargon of some of the texts, but once he was focused on something, he didn’t quit. He stuck with it even when it frustrated him to no end.

Still, Leia was able to make a considerable amount of progress that she wouldn’t have been able to alone. That and Han’s utter confusion at some of the documents allowed Leia some amusement in her work. Leia didn’t even realize how much time had passed until Luke rushed out of his room, fully dressed, and grabbed the keys to the car.

“Luke, what are you doing?” asked Leia. However, she didn’t even finish the sentence before Luke was out the door.

Han raised an eyebrow and looked over towards Leia. “I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d say the world was ending Princess.”

“And why do you say that,” sighed Leia.

“Cause those two kids are acting like someone disrupted their inner equilibrium and somehow we’ve been sitting here for—” Han looked for the nearest clock. “—for nearly three hours and not once have you tried to strangle me. I’m telling you. Nature is out of whack.”

Leia actually laughed. “Is it now?”

“How else do you explain all of this?” asked Han.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I don’t know…listen. We’ve been at this for a while. If you need to be somewhere—”

“Got nothing else to do,” shrugged Han.

“Well you don’t have to stay. You’re here to help break into places. Not research. If I remember correctly, you said that sounded boring anyways.”

“Hey! A guy can change his mind, can’t he?” asked Han defensively. “Besides, if I leave you’re just going to continue working on this. Might as well help since you won’t be getting any from the other two.”

Leia sighed. “How right you are. Well, let me make something before we get into this again. Neither of us have had a proper meal since last night.”

What was left of the day Leia and Han spent sitting at the kitchen table. Leia remained in her shorts and t-shirt while Han had stayed in only the borrowed shorts. Coffee was the one constant and there was a small pile of dishes pushed to the side, something which Leia would have normally never allowed but for the moment left alone. Silently, she noted that from an outside perspective, they almost looked like a couple on a lazy day but she didn’t allow herself to stay long on that thought. Han was simply being useful for once, nothing more.

And the fact that she was oddly enjoying his company now that she wasn’t constantly trying to insult him was simply an unexpected byproduct. That was it.

When Han finally did leave, it got slightly awkward as neither exactly knew how to end what had been an unanticipated evening. Still, after Han had gotten changed and gathered his things, he managed a, “Just text me once you start getting plans in place for the next target”, gave a sloppy salute, and then headed out.

With a sigh and shake of her head, Leia turned back to review all of the information they had combed through. They hadn’t found anything substantial but they had only scratched the surface and still hadn’t gotten into the recorded computer files either. Because of that, Leia went straight back to work, continuing on to an ungodly hour when Luke finally showed up again.

She immediately turned her attention to her brother who appeared exhausted and defeated, two looks she had never seen on him at the same time.

“Luke, where have you been all day?” asked Leia. She stood up and watched the disheartened way he dropped the keys and the way his feet dragged across the floor. “What happened? More specifically, what happened between you and Wedge?”

“Just drop it Leia,” sighed Luke.

“Why? Just tell me what I can do.”

“What you can do is stop asking questions,” he replied. Leia suspected the remark was meant to be biting and scathing but it had just come out sad.

“Luke,” she sighed, “whatever’s going on, all you need to do is talk about it. We’ve always confided in each other before. Why not now?”

“It’s different.”

“But how,” stressed Leia. “You’re not actually telling me anything. You’re just giving me generalities.”

“Perhaps that’s the point.”

“Well it shouldn’t be. I don’t like seeing you like this Luke.”

“That makes two of us,” Luke responded and then went into his room, the door slamming behind him.

For the next hour, Leia tried different approaches, even texting and calling him when it was clear banging on the door and yelling through the wall wasn’t working. However, as much as she hated it, it was obvious that Luke just wanted to be left alone. Leia knew that it wasn’t the right thing to do. She knew Luke better than any other person in the world and she knew that if something had caused him to be this upset then he shouldn’t be alone, but for the moment there was nothing that could be done.

The next day, instead of approaching Luke first, Leia tried to get in contact with Wedge but he wouldn’t respond to anything she sent him. She attempted to broach the subject with Luke again as well but he just closed off.

Leia continued to push but held herself back from going all out. Hopefully, Luke would snap out of it and come to her on his own. She’d give him a few days for that. However, if nothing happened then she would drag the answers out of him if needed. Or Wedge if she could just get in contact with him.

She was about ready to go to Wedge’s apartment and break down his door when he finally did respond in one simple text three days later.

_Hey, on Wednesday we can start going through the data I gathered. Sometime around four if you want._

The message certainly hadn’t been what she wanted and, in her opinion, Wedge sounded much to nonchalant. However, this would give her the opportunity to corner him if need be because Luke still wasn’t giving her anything. The one thing that made the entire situation worse was the fact that due to a quick lunch with their parents, her fathers and mother knew that something was definitely wrong as well. Leia’s mother had even pulled her aside and asked her to try and convince Luke to talk to one of them.

However, if Wedge was now going to meet with her on Wednesday, that allowed three more days to pass. So six days in total for Luke to mope around by himself. Yes, that was plenty of time for Luke to finally come to his senses. If it didn’t work, then she’d drag the truth out of one of them.

On the day that Wedge finally came by (Luke had conveniently left the apartment that day), Leia waited until they had become fairly engrained in the work they were doing. Once Wedge truly seemed comfortable, then Leia would broach the—

Or at least that was the plan until she heard the rapid fire knocking at the door.

Frowning, she got up from the kitchen table and walked over. Leia looked through the peephole and was shocked to see Han standing there, practically jumping up and down. She hadn’t talked to him since the day after the office break in and she couldn’t come up with a single reason as to why he was there now.

As Leia opened the door, she began, “What’s going—”

“I swear to god Princess, I’m about to—” Han cut off upon seeing Wedge. His eyes went wide and he rushed inside the apartment and straight to Wedge. “Never mind. It’s you I need to talk to!”

“Me?” asked Wedge incredulously. “What the hell could you even—”

“Listen here Antilles. I don’t care what happened but I swear if you and Luke don’t start talking again, I’m going to god damn strangle that kid,” Han got out.

“I don’t have to tell you shit! It’s our own damn business!” Wedge yelled back. He jumped up but before he could do anything, Han actually shoved him back into the chair.

“Maybe so,” Han said evenly, “but you want to know what is my god damn business? Luke doing nothing but thinking about you! You can’t fucking do that when flying okay! That’s how accidents happen damn it and I would expect a fellow pilot to understand that! And even if that wasn’t true, Luke not smiling for six whole days is practically criminal on its own so you will make amends!”

“Why do you even care!” yelled Wedge.

“About you? Not much, especially right now,” Han spit out. “But fuck it all, Luke is a friend and you’re important to Luke so you will talk to him even if it kills you!”

Wedge shot up again and screamed in Han’s face, “Well newsflash, it doesn’t matter!”

“Like hell it does!” yelled Han. “It matters to—”

“Well it shouldn’t! It shouldn’t fucking matter because he chose you alright. He fucking chose you!” And with that, Wedge collapsed back into the chair and covered his head in his hands.

Leia had remained silent throughout the entire fight but now finally moved forward. She could see that Han was stunned and confused and Leia couldn’t blame him. She allowed the silence to lengthen just a bit more before finally saying, “That’s ridiculous Wedge. Just saying it now, you should realize that.”

“It’s what he said!” Wedge cried out. “And Christ I…I don’t even blame him.”

Leia grabbed the other chair and pulled it around so that she could sit right in front of Wedge. Han leaned against the nearest wall and looked expectantly at what was about to be said.

“Wedge…whatever’s happened has to be a misunderstanding. What occurred in the car?” asked Leia softly but authoritatively. “What did you both discuss?”

“It…it started out so simple. He just…I can’t even fully remember what happened,” sighed Wedge. “But we got onto the subject of you—” Wedge pointed at Han there. “—and I…I god damn accused Luke of not wanting to be around me anymore and how I felt like he was pulling away and he got defensive and it all just sort of fell apart from there and we were just yelling at each other and you came in on the walkie-talkie so we had to stop and we just sat there for a few moments and then Luke replied to whatever the last thing I said was with something like ‘if you’re going to act like this then I don’t need your friendship’ which was basically saying I choose Han and this is all because I was afraid you were pulling him away but it was me who pushed him away and he hasn’t gotten in contact with me and I’m so afraid of talking to him and-and-and—”

Leia put a hand on Wedge’s shoulder. She could feel him trembling beneath her. “Wedge, fights happen, okay? But things said during such things are always done so without thinking. Luke didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have. Myself and Han are witness enough to how much this affecting him. He needs to talk to you.”

“But why would he want to! It’s all my fault. All of it.”

“Hey,” Leia replied, “disagreements take two people. Whatever happened, both you and Luke are equally to blame. You need to talk.”

“But—”

“You know what? No. No buts,” interrupted Han. “Maybe we won’t solve all of this today but god damn it you both are going to at least confront the damn problem.” Han pulled out his phone and quickly ringed Luke. He took a deep breath and then suddenly in one long, frantic huff said, “Luke you gotta come to your apartment now-no don’t ask why I’m here-it doesn’t matter it’s your twin-yeah Leia she needs help-you gotta come quick Kid-you gotta hurry!” Han hung up before any response could be given.

Leia let out a sigh and hung her head. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Hey, this way Luke won’t waste time in getting here,” replied Han. “Now all we have to do is wait.”

Wedge sat in silence, looking sicker and paler as the minutes ticked by. Leia got him a glass of water but he just messed with it and never actually drank from it. Han continued to lean against the wall as he ignored the calls and texts that Luke was sending him. Leia sighed and turned her phone off as Luke tried to get in contact with her as well.

It was only a matter of time…

Luke burst through the door, panicked and wide-eyed. However, before he could fully understand the situation he saw, Han walked over and clamped an arm around Luke’s shoulders, stopping him from running off.

“Alright, here’s the deal Luke. You and Wedge are going to talk like proper adults and get to the bottom of this feud or Leia and I are locking you both in the bathroom.”

Leia raised an eyebrow at that new idea but didn’t argue it, instead waiting to see what Luke would say.

“You’re not-you’re not hurt?” Luke asked, looking as his twin.

“No, but from the sounds of it, Wedge is and so are you. Explain,” Leia said.

As Luke finally turned his attention to Wedge, Leia could see her twin immediately freeze. Regret and guilt played over his face as he avoided eye contact, which wasn’t that difficult seeing as Wedge was doing the same thing.

“Alright,” muttered Han. “One of you start talking. Now.”

“I…” Wedge spoke first, uncertain and quiet. “I understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

“What?! I don’t want that!” cried Luke, shock spreading over his face. Both looked up at each other and for a moment, a long silence stretched between them.

Finally Wedge murmured, “You said—”

“I said some really stupid things,” interrupted Luke.

“But I did too,” Wedge tried. “I pushed you away—”

“No, you were right in thinking that I was pushing you away.” It seemed that saying this was causing physical pain to Luke. “I _was_ trying to push you away…but not because I was choosing Han over you! I…I was afraid…I was afraid if I came clean then you would leave of your own accord but at the same time it just hurt so much so I thought a good middle ground would be distancing myself but it just…it’s made everything worse.”

“But what could you possibly be afraid of?” asked Wedge incredulously. “Why would you have to come clean?”

“I…shit,” murmured Luke. “The whole point of this was that I was afraid I’d lose you as a friend alright? I didn’t want to lose that.”

The presence of Han and Leia had been completely forgotten as Wedge finally stood up and walked over to Luke. “What could have possibly made you think that?”

“Because I don’t want to be friends-I mean not _just_ friends. I want-I’m-you’re just-I love you damn it. And I’ve been in love with you for so damn long.”

Han perked up, listening intently for what would happen next. For Leia, all the little pieces had just fit together and now all she had to do was wait for Wedge’s response.

“What?”

Well that was a little underwhelming.

“I’m in love with you Wedge,” Luke tried. “And I’ve wanted to tell you but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship and I…I did just that.”

“You’re in love with me and you didn’t think about mentioning that?” asked Wedge.

“I didn’t—”

“No. Stop. You don’t get to make excuses,” Wedge responded as Luke ducked his head. “And hey, look at me here! After all this time of feeling like I was losing my best friend, I find out that it’s because you couldn’t bring yourself to tell me you liked me.”

“I’m sorry Wedge I—”

“Nope, just a little apology isn’t going to fix this,” Wedge responded. “Only one thing can do that. Kiss me.”

“Wait-what!”

“Kiss me.”

“But you were just—”

“Damn it Luke. When the person you love asks them to kiss you, you don’t argue back,” replied Wedge before uncrossing his arms, roughly grabbing Luke, and pulling him into a hard kiss.

Han snorted and Leia rolled her eyes.

When Wedge pulled away, Luke gave him a dazed look.

“And for the record,” Wedge continued, “I’ll still pissed at you for not saying anything sooner.”

Luke just nodded, still staring at Wedge with pure shock on his face.

“Well,” said Leia, “I’ll leave you to unfreeze my brother. Han, I think we should take our leave.”

“Hold on!” cried Luke as he jumped out of Wedge’s arms and grabbed onto his sister. In a voice clearly meant to be a whisper but which everyone could so obviously here, Luke asked, “What the hell do I do? Holy shit holy shit is this actually happening?”

With a small smirk, Leia leaned in and whispered, “I can assure you that it is happening.”

“But what do I do?” stressed Luke.

“Well…next time he asks you to kiss him, you kiss the damn boy. How’s that for advice?” murmured Leia. She slapped her brother on the back. “I’ll see you later. Han…?” She gestured towards the door.

“Right after you Princess,” he replied and they both left, Leia making sure to grab the keys to the car before she closed the door behind her.

Once the door was shut, Han burst into laughter. Leia grinned in return and said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this but thank you for bursting into my home.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised it went that well but god damn finally! If Luke’s moping had gone on for one more day I would have killed him. Or myself. Maybe both.”

Leia laughed. “I can’t help but agree with you. Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t see it sooner.”

“Hey, we all miss things Princess,” sighed Han with a smirk. “Well now that that’s over…”

“Planning on anything else today?” asked Leia.

“Not really. The main goal was to solve Luke’s problem and with that done…what about you?”

“Well I was to go through some more of the gathered intelligence with Wedge but seeing as that’s not going to happen for some time, it just so occurs that I’m free at the moment,” Leia replied.

“Coffee?” asked Han. “I know a great little place.”

The words that she said next were only less surprising than the fact that she actually meant them. “I’d love to.”


	6. Almost

Leia loved her brother more than anything and when his reconciliation and new relationship with Wedge had gotten him out of that sullen mood, she had been overjoyed. Nevertheless, the thought of murdering Luke had crossed her mind multiple times.

Still, the idea was certainly tinged with fondness but she couldn’t help but remember that time when Luke had closed off and stopped telling her everything. Now every second he seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue.

Honestly though, the annoyance was worth it to see Luke’s smiles and to hear his laughter again.

Not only that but with Luke and Wedge together, the arguments between Han and Wedge had gone from almost violent to mostly sarcasm and mild irritation. Sometimes it was difficult to tell if their fighting had any merit or if they just did it because that was the only way they knew how to talk to each other. Either way, the group had begun working more proficiently than ever before and it also helped that Leia’s opinion of Han was slowly changing.

He certainly still had qualities that irked her and his crudeness wasn’t always appreciated, yet the man had undoubtedly grown on her and he had proved that he was not only with the job until the end, but he also was a valuable friend for Luke.

As far as the plan to now break into Palpatine’s city home went, weeks passed as college and jobs and family were balanced with it. They managed to get through all the files that they had gotten but had found practically nothing. Nevertheless, Wedge did zero in on a series of vague emails to a person they couldn’t find any information on. It gave them at least a hint as to what to look for in their next targets.

In total, four months passed before they were ready to break into Palpatine’s city home. The last semester had ended and the new semester at college was in full swing. Even with all the surveillance and staking and research, Leia still felt that they may be moving in a bit soon but she needed something on Palpatine to help her mother.

Because of that, they decided on a date and soon found themselves in a similar situation. Palpatine was going to be in DC due to a series of meetings which meant no chance of anyone coming home.

Now it was the middle of the night again. The weather certainly wasn’t as bad as it had been but it was still nasty enough to cause most to stay off the streets.

Leia and Han were both in all black again. The plan was similar to that of the office building minus the security guards that they’d have to worry about.

“Now thankfully,” Leia said, “I don’t have to worry about you two getting into any arguments since all that water has long been swept under the bridge. However, the whole point of you two being here is to be our surveillance so you better be staring out of these damn windows and not into each other’s eyes like the love struck fools you are.”

Wedge just snorted as Luke blushed like he always did. Luke softly whined, “We don’t do that. Do we?”

“I don’t,” Wedge replied, “but you so totally do.”

Luke playfully hit Wedge in the side as Leia rolled her eyes. “Alright you two, reign it in. We’ll contact you if we need help and if anything goes wrong.”

Wedge gave them the thumbs up. “Got it. We’ll be here.”

Han and Leia swiftly headed out of the car and made their way to the city home. It was much too large for a single man yet still considerably smaller than the countryside home that Palpatine owned. Leia was not looking forward to breaking into that place.

However, she focused on the situation at hand as Han and her moved through the practiced motions easily and smoothly. There weren’t any electronics to look over, Palpatine seeming to approve of the old fashioned method of paper. Though that meant it was more likely that there was something there that Palpatine was hiding, it also meant they didn’t have the luck of sticking a thumb drive in somewhere and just downloading all the files.

It was going to be a long job but both Leia and Han were ready for it.

As they went through the usual places, moving from the room to room, Han finally suggested something as he went through a set of drawers.

“Try that picture frame over there.”

“What?” asked Leia.

“That big old picture on the wall over there. Sometimes people will turn them into cabinet like things.”

Leia chuckled. “Aren’t you the one that always likes to remind us that this is real life?”

“Hey, this is an actual thing people do. Just check it out,” Han shot back.

Letting out a sigh, she walked over and traced a hand over the side of the frame. Looking closely, she couldn’t help the shock that formed as she found a small latch and pulled open the picture frame. She glanced at the backside of the painting before focusing on whatever contents were there. Neatly placed folders organized different files and documents and Leia began to go through them.

Besides the fact that the contents of these files had been hidden, key words also stood out to Leia that filled her with hope. There was something tangible in these.

The urge to actually look at the documents was great but she refrained from it, knowing that there would be a time and place for that. However, as she came to another document, two words caught her attention that did cause her to pause in her work. It was only one document that she wanted to get a quick look at. Just one and then she’d continue on.

The two words that had caught her eye had been two names. One was the name of the man Palpatine had been emailing that Wedge had zeroed in on, the one that they couldn’t find any information on, Brendol Hux. The second name was much more familiar though and Leia chilled upon seeing it. It was her Godfather, Bail Organa.

Before she could reign herself in, Leia was already rapidly reading through it. This document was not vague, did not try and dance around whatever evil doings it had recorded. It straight out said it and the information that Leia was gathering made her knees tremble. She covered her mouth with a hand to keep in the cry as she forced herself to take a picture of the document and put it back. She trembled for a moment more before collecting herself.

There would be a time to fall apart but right now wasn’t it. They needed to finish the job. Then she could go back to the file.

As she finished up with the picture frame and slowly closed it back up, Leia could tell that Han knew something was up. He looked at her warily like he was unsure whether to say or do something. For the moment, Leia was thankful he didn’t as she needed to focus on the job at hand. Han’s concern would have just made it more difficult.

Silence remained for the rest of the job as except when Han or herself mentioned a place to double check. Other than that, it was soon coming to an end and after what felt like forever, they were finally able to leave with the evidence.

The moment Leia was back in the car, she was rapidly flipping through the pictures, looking for the one with Bail Organa’s name on it.

Luke immediately caught on to the turmoil in the air and slipped into the back before Wedge began to drive off.

“Leia, what did you find?” asked Luke. He wrapped an arm around his sister’s, hugging her tight. “What?”

“Just…let me find it first,” Leia got out. She could feel her brother and Han pressed in on either side, looking for whatever was causing her distress.

Her fingers flew through the pictures before finally coming across a document she recognized had been in the picture frame. The document with Bail Organa was somewhere close.

She found it and quickly zoomed in on the small screen. Han and Luke leaned over, trying to follow along with Leia as Wedge said, “What’s wrong?”

“Just…hold on,” whispered Leia. She wasn’t sure if the words were directed at Wedge or the others. Or herself. She just needed to finish reading this, needed to get through it.

When the document was finished, Leia resisted the urge to reread it. She didn’t need to. She knew what it had said no matter how much doubt she wanted to feel over the whole thing. The next step was to call her Godfather.

Leia pulled out her phone and rapidly pulled up the contact.

“What are you doing?” asked Luke. The confusion on his face showed that he hadn’t been able to keep up with her lightening fast reading. “What’s going on? What does this have to do with—”

“Hush!” cried Leia as she listened to the ringing.

“It’s nearly five in the morning,” hissed Han. “You can’t honestly expect anyone to—”

_“Hello?”_

“Bail!” cried Leia. “Thank goodness. I need—”

 _“Leia, what’s the matter? What’s happened?”_ Bail’s tone was calm and authoritative, going into his politician voice. It was that fact that let Leia know he was worried.

“I’m fine. Honestly, please don’t get yourself worked up over me. I’m not in danger. You are.”

_“What?”_

“Listen, I’ll explain later but don’t drink anything today that you don’t know where it came from. Even if it’s your secretary or a friend or even Breha, just don’t trust it,” Leia responded. “But trust me, please. I can explain this later but at this moment, please just listen to me.”

There was silence on the other end for several moments to long before Bail finally responded. _“Does Padmé know about this?”_

“No.”

_“Alright, I’ll come down the day after tomorrow.”_

“Bail you don’t—”

 _“No, whatever this is about, something tells me it should be said face to face,”_ sighed Bail. _“Just tell me if Luke is alright.”_

“He’s fine. Like I said, you just need to worry about yourself,” Leia replied. She could feel herself break just a little. If Palpatine had gone to DC on a different day, if they had broken in the day afterwards, if Han hadn’t mentioned the painting, she could have lost him. “Just know…I couldn’t lose you. I love you.”

 _“Love you too sweetheart,”_ murmured Bail. _“I’ll listen to your warning.”_

“Thank you,” Leia whispered. “I’ll call you tonight.”

 _“Sounds like a plan. I’ll talk to you later then. Give my best to your brother,”_ Bail replied and then hung up.

The phone dropped from Leia’s hand and hit the car floor with a deafening thud. She covered her mouth and closed her eyes. No tears came like she had expected. Instead, a painful, ice cold sliver was being driven through her heart. She could still feel her brother wrapped around her on one side and Han pressed in close, one hand on the small of her back.

No one said anything. The only noise was that of the car and the soft, uncertain breathes that escaped everyone’s lips.

Leia felt like the world had dropped from underneath her. But at the same time there was a power rising in her, a new feeling of determination that seemed to counter act the feeling of falling. Nevertheless, she found that her legs were having a difficult time of working when they finally stopped at hers and Luke’s apartment. Her brother seemed to be having similar difficulties though it was clear that he still didn’t fully understand what had happened.

Or perhaps he was making a conscious effort to not understand. Leia didn’t blame him. She wished she could do just that.

Because her legs didn’t seem to want to follow her directions, Han took a hold of her and Wedge grabbed Luke. It was only once they were in the safety of home that words seemed to come to Luke once more.

“Our Godfather…Uncle Bail…it’s not true is it?” Luke finally got out.

Leia could see that her brother wanted her to waive off his fears but she couldn’t do that to him. Besides, this was not a truth that one could sweep under the rug. This truth, so evil and far more twisted than Leia had ever expected, it could destroy lives if not spoken of.

“Senator Palpatine is planning on killing Bail Organa tomorrow.”

The words seemed foreign on her tongue.

“But this…you can’t be serious,” Luke tried. “We started this looking for signs of…embezzlement and corrupt policies and false charities and…we weren’t looking for murder!”

“Attempted murder,” Leia corrected him softly. “If all goes well, Bail will not die tomorrow.”

“Bail will not-stop it!” yelled Luke. “You shouldn’t even be saying that! He-why would—”

Luke stopped, his voice shaking as he collapsed on the couch. Wedge sat next to him, enveloping and pulling him close.

Leia was silent for a moment. Looking down at the floor as she thought about her next words carefully. “We can’t ignore this,” she said softly.

“But it just can’t be-I mean—” Luke had to stop himself again, overwhelmed by what he was feeling.

“I understand why you don’t want to believe this,” Leia continued and she became aware of that sliver of ice again, stuck in her heart. “If he’s trying to murder our Godfather…then who else has he tried this with? Who else has he failed or succeeded in killing? Admitting this to be real…I understand your pain Luke because it means that our Mother is in far more danger than I ever realized.”

The room grew silent again before Han made himself known again. He moved closer to Leia and asked, “Why didn’t you tell your Godfather everything?”

“If he were to suddenly cancel everything tomorrow to try and evade this threat, Palpatine would know something was up,” Leia responded evenly. “We can’t risk that. Especially not now.”

“But what if—”

Leia pulled up the document and handed it over to Luke to look over as she said, “The entire process is meant to look like an accident. The drug mimics that of a stroke and is difficult to detect unless one is looking specifically for that drug. If this fails, there are no instructions to try and push this further. My guess is that Palpatine will simply try again with some other method.”

Luke was silent, taking in everything his sister had said.

Wedge spoke first, murmuring, “Brendol Hux…the man that Palpatine has been corresponding with. He seems to be the middle man.”

“So it would seem,” sighed Leia. “We need to go through what we have. Then we need to get into Palpatine’s countryside home. From what I saw of the hidden documents, they seemed to be plans currently in the works. However, Palpatine is nothing if not meticulous. I’m positive now that we’ll find a record of past attempts there and a further understanding of this sect of Palpatine’s illegal movements. We’ll—”

“Princess,” Han interrupted, his voice careful and kind, “I think you need to calm down, get some rest, stuff like that.”

“I have just learned of this monster’s intention to kill my Godfather and you want me to rest _now_?” Leia couldn’t help the bite that came to her voice.

“No, after finding this out, what I want is to take this man down as much as you. Honest, but you need to rest. The sun is already coming up now and you’re going to start wearing yourself thin if you’re not careful,” Han replied. “Just trust me. It’s better to rest now and go at this with a clear head rather than draining yourself now and not getting anywhere.”

Han was right and Leia hated it. She stared at him, wishing that there was some way to change that but no amount of looking into the man’s eyes would do anything. It was with a defeated sigh that she nodded. “Alright…rest. And then we’re going to take this son of a bitch down,” Leia growled out.

She stalked off to her room before anyone could add anything. Anger and pain flitted through her. A small part of her felt that it was her fault. The feeling was unrealistic but there nonetheless. It honestly didn’t surprise her that Palpatine was trying to off her Godfather but it was precisely that which angered her. She should have seen, should have known, should have been able to do something sooner.

If they hadn’t gone…if she hadn’t been able to warn Bail…

Despite the truth in Han’s words, Leia did not pass out once her head hit the pillow. A part of her was undeniably exhausted and wished that sleep would take her. However, as she twisted and turned and avoided the morning light streaming through her window, she found she couldn’t sleep.

She knew what might help her sleep though and finally got up. She knocked on her brother’s door softly and a muffled sound of “Come in” was heard.

The first thing Leia noted was the pile of blankets on the floor and the unmistakable hair that belonged to Han poking out beneath them. His snoring was as soft and rhythmic as she last remembered it. Her brother lay on the bed with Wedge behind him, arms hugging her brother tight.

In truth, she could have probably spoken normally for she doubted Wedge or Han would have woken, both being heavy sleepers, but she whispered to her brother anyways. “You didn’t want to sleep alone.” She padded across the room, stepping over Han curling up on the bed next to her brother.

He nodded at the statement. “I feel…so vulnerable…” murmured Luke, centimeters away from his sister. “Things of this nature only happen in movies, you know? It’s ridiculous. Killing off other senators…it can’t be true.”

“But it is,” Leia responded softly. “I wish it wasn’t but now that we know of this, we have to find more information. We can’t just stand by when there’s a risk of someone else dying.”

“Mother…” Luke whispered. “She would certainly have been on Palpatine’s hit list.”

“All the more reason to continue our search and finish this,” replied Leia. She grew silent for a moment and then asked, “I know it’s crowded…but do you mind me being here? I couldn’t sleep.”

“No, I think it’ll help…having everyone here,” said Luke.

Leia nodded in silent agreement and was just as thankful of Wedge’s and Han’s presence as well. She rolled over so that her back was to her brother and he pulled her in close, mimicking the same position that Wedge had taken behind him.

It seemed that the conversation was now over but before Leia could fully allow herself to fall asleep, Luke asked, “What if Uncle Bail doesn’t make it though? What if—”

“You can’t afford yourself to think like that,” Leia responded. “But it doesn’t matter. We’ll talk with Bail tonight. He’ll be fine.”

Leia suddenly jumped. One of her hands had been hanging over the bed and she now felt a hand, Han’s hand, envelop hers and squeeze tightly. Perhaps he hadn’t been as deep in sleep as she’d thought. But with a sudden realization, she could tell that she needed that grip because no matter how calm her words had been, she knew that she couldn’t realistically assure her brother of anything.

Han held on tightly for some time and Leia let him, her hand slipping from his only once sleep finally took her.


	7. Two Little Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you as always. This chapter I rewrote a lot of times so hopefully the end result turned out alright. Please enjoy :)

Wedge, ever the early bird, was already up and out of the room when Leia, Luke, and Han rose from their slumber (not that it could be considered particularly early what with the time being nearly five o’clock in the evening).

Leia immediately hurried out to grab her phone and Luke followed her. This time when she called Bail, she put it on speaker as both her and her brother waited anxiously for the results. They stood in the living room, waiting for something to happen as they both just barely noted how Wedge was sitting in the kitchen, his face turned anxiously towards them.

Right as Han walked in, the call went to voice mail. Leia cursed and her resolve just barely slipped. She quickly redialed the number.

“Please Bail…please…”

_“Leia—”_

Her face fell. The voice was not that of her Godfather’s. It was his wife, Breha. Leia didn’t allow herself to collapse just yet though. Breha sounded tired and angry and so very sad but not heartbroken. Nevertheless, Leia couldn’t help but ask, “Bail…is he…?”

 _“I answered in the hopes my husband wouldn’t wake. He should be resting right now,”_ and it was so easy to imagine her Godmother’s pointed glare, _“but I’m fairly sure he’ll walk over and take this phone if he has to. Please don’t keep him on too long. He really needs to rest sweetheart.”_

“I promise,” Leia said.

_“Alright, hold on.”_

Leia and Luke waited anxiously.

 _“Leia, I’m sorry but I don’t think I will be able to make it down there tomorrow.”_ Bail’s voice was scratchy and exhausted but alive.

“We don’t care as long as you’re alive,” Leia replied earnestly. “But you sound awful.”

“Yeah, what happened?” Luke put in.

 _“Luke…it’s good to hear your voice as well. I’m sorry I…I slipped up. I managed to spit most of whatever it was out but enough got into my system to compromise me,”_ Bail replied. “ _I’ll be fine…just will need to take some time off.”_

There was a moment of silence as Bail took several deep breathes. _“If I had drank it all…if they hadn’t had anything to analyze and it had completely gone into my system…it would have looked like a natural death. But now they’re…they’re investigating it as attempted murder. What…have you twins gotten into? Please tell me you’re both safe.”_

“We are for now,” Leia replied.

_“You’re Mother…is Padmé…is she safe? How much…does she know?”_

“She doesn’t know anything but we decided it wouldn’t be unlikely if she is in danger or has been in danger before,” Luke replied, wording his answer carefully, unsure of exactly what Leia wanted Bail to know.

 _“Who is…responsible?”_ Bail whispered.

“It wouldn’t do any good if I told you,” Leia replied. “Not now that you have to focus on getting yourself better.”

_“But you know. That has to put…you in danger.”_

“Only if the assailant knows and I don’t think they do.”

Bail gave a tired chuckle. _“Not even a pronoun huh? Not going to…give me…even a hint.”_

“I’m sorry,” whispered Leia.

 _“Why? This isn’t…your fault. If anything, I should be…thanking you. I would be…dead if not for…your warning,”_ Bail got out.

“Still, I’m so sorry,” Leia murmured.

_“Luke…since I’m stuck here…I’m going to need you…to hug your sister for me. Make sure she…she doesn’t blame herself.”_

“I think hitting her would be more effective,” Luke replied which earned him an elbow in the gut from Leia and another chuckle from Bail.

_“Perhaps. You always have…been stubborn…Leia.”_

“I get it from Anakin,” Leia replied.

 _“And Obi-Wan…and Padmé,”_ added Bail. “ _You lot…have always been…so stubborn.”_

“And you’re not?” asked Luke.

 _“Point taken,”_ murmured Bail. He took another moment to simply breathe easily before asking, _“Will you both…call me…every day…until this is over? I couldn’t…you know both Breha…and I think…think the world of you both like…like you were—”_

“We know Bail,” Leia assured him, not wanting Bail to exert himself where it wasn’t needed. “We know.”

“You’ve both been there for us countless times. We definitely know,” added Luke.

_“Good because…because I do love…love you both as if you were my own.”_

“And we love you and Breha as if you were our parents,” Leia said.

Bail laughed. His speech was becoming even slower, each word needing more and more energy. _“Five parents…huh? You getting…a little…greedy…now.”_

“Who cares? It’s how we feel about you,” Luke replied.

“Yes, and because we care about you, I think it’s time we hang up,” Leia responded. “You need to rest.”

_“Hmm…you’re right…of course. I think…Breha…is ready…to sedate me…anyways…if I don’t…hang up. I assume…I can’t…talk about this.”_

“Yes,” replied Leia.

_“Alright…I love you both. Stay…safe…and don’t…forget…to call.”_

“We won’t. We love you too,” Leia and Luke said.

 _“You…too. Bye.”_ It was easy to pick out the exhaustion and sleep that was finally taking him.

Leia relaxed considerably once the call had ended. Her Godfather would live. He would be alright.

“Well,” said Han, “at least we have this little victory on us.” He turned to Wedge. “So, early bird, what the hell have you been up to while we slept the day away?”

“Just going through all these documents. So far there isn’t another record of an assassination in here but there is some information on this Brendol Hux,” Wedge replied. “It seems he’s a middle man in a lot of operations for Palpatine, not just murder.”

Leia gave a swift nod. “Alright, let’s go through all the information and then we need to plan our final objective. We don’t know if anyone else is being targeted by Palpatine right now. The sooner we get this information, hopefully the sooner we prevent any more deaths.”

Whereas the last time Leia had taken time with everything in an effort to be as meticulous as possible, this time there was a rush to uncover more of Palpatine’s dark secrets now that their effects were even more obvious and painful. This realization made Leia do things that she would have never done before which included skipping class, calling in sick to work, and ditching plans with friends.

However, it was obvious what was more important. She would make up her missed classes later, apologize to her friends, and go back to work when there weren’t lives at stake. Besides, it was known that Palpatine had tried to kill Bail and that was unforgiveable. Every day that they talked with Bail, he sounded stronger, healthier, but there was still that underlying knowledge of what could have been.

Bail Organa, hers and Luke’s Godfather, had been there for them since they were babies. Him and Breha were so loving and kind. They couldn’t have children of their own but that didn’t seem to matter because in a way, she knew that they saw Luke and her as their children and that they brought just as much joy to them as any blood-related child could.

Leia remembered a time when Luke and her had stayed with them while their parents’ had their tenth year anniversary. She could recall the time Bail took them to a theme park, there were moments where she had fallen asleep against him or Breha and they had wrapped her up tightly, keeping her safe in sleep. There had been so many wonderful things that Leia learned from Bail, both politically and socially. Luke had spent a great amount of time with Breha as well, their interests aligning somewhat more. It was so obvious that neither her or her brother would be the people they were today without their Godfather and Godmother.

And Palpatine had almost taken that away. A new, much more intimate hate for the man grew in Leia and at first, the added energy helped push her through more and more work.

But she quickly found hate to be a funny thing. Though it was great for a quick boost, running on it constantly drained a person and it took more than it gave. Leia began to find it difficult to use anything else when pushing herself.

One day, as the group of four worked together, Leia realized that a considerable amount of herself seemed to be slipping away. It was troublesome but once again, Leia pushed herself through it, knowing that saving lives was more important than herself. At least, that’s what the plan was until Han gently pulled her laptop away from her.

She looked up at him, curious, confused, and just a little bit angry. However, it was clear from his face that he wasn’t trying to be rude. He held out a hand.

“Thinking of making a coffee run. Want to come with?” asked Han.

Leia didn’t take the hand just yet. “We have coffee here.”

“Yeah, but I can’t do another black cup again. I need something gross and sickly sweet. We can go to that little place I took you that one time,” Han tried.

It was tempting to say no. there was still so much work to be done. But for a completely different set of reasons, it was tempting to say yes. It would be one little trip, then straight back to work.

Leia took the offered hand and Han gave that half smirk in response. He gave a little wave to Wedge and Luke. “We’ll see you kids later. Be right back.”

As they walked out the door and down to Han’s car, Leia could already tell the man wasn’t going to want to talk about Palpatine or the job. She couldn’t blame him. She was sick of it too and repeating everything back to Han would be pointless.

Instead, Leia asked a small question that she’d always been curious about. “You’ve nicknamed both Luke and Wedge ‘Kid’ but call me Princess. We’re the same age. I’m curious why.”

“You’re curious about that?” asked Han incredulously.

“Yes.”

“Huh, go figure. Well, for starters you’re more mature than either of them. Calling you Kid just didn’t seem right.”

“So why Princess?” asked Leia as they got to the car and she jumped into the driver’s seat. “Hmm?”

Han gave her a sheepish grin. “Well…if I’m being completely honest, it was because when I first met you, I pretty much pegged you for a pompous, know-it-all, control freak and let’s face it, Princess roles off the tongue better than Queen and does sound just a little bit more patronizing.”

Leia rolled her eyes at that. “I hope you still don’t call me that for those reasons.”

“Oh, you can still be a pompous ass. Don’t worry about that,” Han replied. It was a response that at one time, Leia would have mercilessly hit him for, but now only laughed. “But uh…you’ve got a lot of good qualities. You’re a natural leader. You’re actually pretty gentle when you want to be, which surprised the hell out of me, but strong and powerful. You can connect with people, intelligent, beautiful…”

Han trailed off as a hue of pink tinged his cheeks. It was surprising and unexpected but actually rather cute as well. Still, Leia didn’t get a chance to respond to it as Han quickly continued.

“Anyways, all qualities that a ruler should have and once again, Princess just roles off the tongue better.”

“Even if it sounds more patronizing,” countered Leia.

“Hey, only if you say it a certain way,” Han said. “You know, I can be like ‘Hey _Princess’_ or just ‘Hey Princess. See the difference.”

Yes it was pretty damn obvious. The first one sounded crude and was clearly meant as an insult. The second tone was softer and held a certain amount of…something kind…something positive.

Leia replied, “Yes, I can see that. But you know, there are those that should hold the same qualities as you said. Like a General.”

“Generals suppose to be beautiful?”

She had wondered if he’d include that one. “It’s certainly not against army policy,” she said with a small chuckle.

Han actually smiled at that. “Well General, we’re here,” replied Han. “Come on.”

They went in and ordered for everyone. While they waited, Han mumbled something under his breath. The softness and meaning of the words caused Leia to do a double take.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to pay me for this,” he repeated a little louder but still somewhat embarrassed. “The job I mean.”

“The only reason you’ve helped us is because of the promise of money.”

“Yeah, at the start! But…reasons can…you know. Change and stuff,” Han muttered.

“Then what are your new reasons?”

Han clearly wasn’t sure what to do. He either wouldn’t answer or he’d let it burst out of him, loud enough for the world to hear. For the moment, he remained silent and Leia began to think that he’d likely go with the first choice. But suddenly, their coffee was there and it was time to go back to the car. With the change in scenery, Leia figured the conversation was done. However, as Leia walked in the lead holding two of the cups, Han suddenly spoke up again.

“Uh, Princess?”

“Yes?” she asked as she turned back to him and jumped. He was much closer than she’d thought. When he didn’t do anything, she raised an eyebrow. “Yes…?”

Han opened his mouth, hesitant and uncertain. Then his head suddenly dipped forward and he kissed her lightly against her lips.

When he pulled back, Leia remained looking at him, her face frozen in contemplation.

“You going to uh…say anything?” Han finally got out after they had stood there for a good thirty seconds.

“I’m thinking,” responded Leia and then she turned and got into the car, putting both coffee cups into the cup holders.

Han slowly got in and when he did, Leia turned to him, a question burning in her mind.

“Why?”

He didn’t answer.

“Han, I will strap you to the back of this car and drag you through the city if you will not say.”

“Good grief, so violent.”

“No, you’re about to see violence if you don’t answer me,” Leia replied honestly.

Han opened his mouth again, tentative, uncertain, and then he suddenly blurted out, “You were losing yourself.”

The words were an odd choice but intriguing nonetheless. With this sudden admission, Leia eased up and instead, tried to softly coax the rest of the words out of Han. “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“You haven’t been yourself these past couple of days,” Han admitted.

“Haven’t I?”

Han shook his head. “You…you use to look at this world as something beautiful and brilliant and now there’s just…your eyes aren’t filled with intrigue and beauty just…revenge.”

“I didn’t realize you stared at my eyes that often.”

“Wow, way to be a little shit.”

“Alright, maybe it’s wrong to tease. But I’m having trouble understanding this,” Leia replied.

“Can’t you just see that this is eating you alive?” Han asked.

“All the more reason to finish quickly.”

“But you’re…you’re strong Leia. Possibly the strongest person I know,” replied Han, “but even the strong need a break.”

Leia remained silent for a moment. Perhaps he was right-no she knew he was right-but there were still questions to be asked. “Why kiss me?”

“Because I wanted you to see some beauty in the world again.”

“Are you trying for corniest line ever?”

“I’m trying alright! The point is I’m trying and don’t want this to consume you. I want you to…remain you.”

“Because you really do care,” Leia replied, the disbelief clear in her voice.

“Is it really that hard to believe?”

“Yes…in another time. But now…I’m not so sure.”

“I love you,” Han said suddenly.

Leia searched his eyes, thought on his tone. She recalled his support, the smirks, the glances, the tight hand that had gripped hers in a time of need. She remembered how the patronizing words had gradually grown genuine and kind. She thought about the moments where he hadn't needed to stay around, how he could have just left, but instead stayed whether to help or simply keep her company. She noted the way he looked at her now compared with how he once had. There really only seemed one proper answer to Han’s words.

“I know.”

Silence stretched between them as they simply stared at one another.

Han broke it with a forceful plea. “Stay Leia, don’t let this awful thing shape you.”

For the moment, she ignored his plea and asked, “Did you intend to kiss me? Dragging me away from the work?”

“No, I just wanted you to get away from it all. Even if just for a moment.”

Leia thought on this before replying, “You don’t have a stake in this.”

“Of course I do,” Han responded defensively. “This involves two of the most important people in my life. And, you know, that annoying Antilles guy or whatever.”

Leia actually laughed at that. “Most important, hmm? Luke will be happy to hear that. You mean the world to him as well.”

“And you?”

“To be considered one of the most important people to a man that I formally thought of as selfish and cowardly…I think it’s an honor to be proven wrong in so many helps.”

“If it helps, I can still be pretty selfish,” Han said with a pointed look before breaking into his half smirk.

“I don’t doubt it,” Leia responded with her own smirk that mimicked his. Another pause before, “You agreed to help because of the money.”

“But I stayed because of you and Luke. Like I said, it’s not about the money. It’s about helping those I care about.”

Leia cocked her head to the side. “You know, I don’t think you’ve changed that much.”

“So I’m still that cowardly thief in your mind?” asked Han with a raised eyebrow.

“Truthfully, I don’t think you were ever really that no matter what you projected onto others.”

“Oh, so I purposely acted like I did? Why would I do that?”

“A defensive mechanism I imagine,” Leia replied. “It’s easier leaving people that you haven’t grown attached too. Hurts less.”

“True.”

“Yet here you are.”

“Here I am.”

Leia swept her eyes over Han again, taking in everything. She leaned over and kissed Han softly. It was only for a moment but as it happened, Leia allowed herself to live in that moment, only thinking of it. When she pulled back, the weight of everything that she held flooded back. But she found that holding that weight had suddenly lessened, eased. The need for revenge, though still there, had dulled.

“You’re right, I did need to step away from this for a moment,” Leia admitted softly.

“But now it’s time to work again. I can tell. You’re ready to move on this son of a bitch.”

“More than ever,” replied Leia with a revitalized since of intensity and fire.

Han smiled and finally started the car. “You know, Luke is going to have a field day with this.”

“I would be surprised if he didn’t. Truthfully, I am more curious about how my parents will react.”

“Well on the bright side, your mother has always liked me,” said Han.

“She has, hasn’t she? I’ve never understood why,” Leia said with mock seriousness.

“Hey, anyone and everyone can fall prey to my charms,” smirked Han.

“Anyone?”

“Well, except you of course,” Han chuckled and though it was said jokingly, Leia knew that there was a deeper meaning in it. Yes, Han was naturally charming but a lot of it had been built as that defense to keep people out. Though Leia had once thought her brother unrealistic in his faith with Han, she could now see that her brother had simply been able to look past that wall earlier than she had. A rare occurrence it was when Luke’s intuition was right over her own but she didn’t think of it as a negative aspect. Instead, Leia saw it as a lesson learned.

When they arrived back at the apartment and they got out of the car, Leia paused and said, “Thank you for all that you have done.”

“Don’t thank me to soon Princess. You can do that when this guy is behind bars,” Han said.

They headed up to the apartment, handed out the coffee and immediately immersed themselves into the work again. Leia didn’t say anything to Luke but not because she was trying to be secretive. There was simply so much that still needed to be done. The mystery of Brendol Hux and how involved he was, what evidence they could gain, what other senators could be or had been in danger. There just wasn’t time.

So no, Leia didn’t say anything because she wanted to keep Luke in the dark for a bit longer. Nevertheless, even she had to admit how amusing it was seeing her brother’s shocked expression when Han gave her a chaste kiss that night before leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (and yes I totally switched it around so sue me)


	8. Threats and Fists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you like this chapter. It was a bit difficult to write but I will say I'm happy with the end result. Please enjoy :)

Though Bail Organa was still on leave from work, he had finally become well enough to travel. He and his wife were staying in the guest room at Leia’s parents' house and though Leia and Luke had of course gone to see their Godfather and Godmother, they were finally having their chance at a proper dinner with them.

Leia, Luke, Padmé, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Bail, and Breha had all just sat down at the dining table when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Because Leia was closest, she stood up and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it Mother.”

They weren’t expecting anyone so Leia went to the front door and curiously looked through the peephole. At one point or another, what she saw might have frozen her heart. Instead, she only needed a moment to calm herself in preparation for the creature that she would face once nothing was between them.

Leia opened the door and plastered the perfect politician’s smile over her face, her Mother and Godfather would have been proud. “Sheev Palpatine. What an unexpected pleasure.” She said the words loud enough that those in the dining room could hear. Even being a room away she could feel the shift in the air.

“I wish I could say the same for you my dear,” Palpatine responded. He tried to simply walk in but Leia stood her ground.

It was tempting to back up but she stood still as Palpatine drew closer. Leia said, “I must admit, I am curious as to why you’re here.”

“And I must admit that I’m curious how you think you stand a chance in all of this,” Palpatine replied.

Leia’s eyes grew steely. “Well, breaking and entering certainly isn’t a good thing but somehow I think it will be easy to overlook the matter seeing as you have successfully killed your way to the top. And let’s not forget your multiple failed attempts to murder my Mother.”

* * *

_The job had been rushed, sloppy even. Yet Wedge, Luke, Han, and Leia had all accepted this risk. Sure, getting charged certainly wasn’t what they were hoping for but if it saved lives, then any fine or punishment was worth it._

_After the information had been gathered, Leia and Luke took it to their Mother, both trusting her in making the proper decisions needed to get Palpatine behind bars._

_When Leia and Luke met with them, Padmé had sat at the dining room table with Anakin and Obi-Wan standing behind her. With any other parents, getting out their story would have likely been near impossible, filled with shouting and accusations from both sides. But their parents had remained silent throughout it and listened respectively._

_Leia had carefully laid out the information in front of Padmé, piece by piece. The paper trail that had been created, the connections, the bank statements, the records, the accomplices. She had talked about how the information was used to blackmail those involved on the chance they had a change of heart but how this record keeping could be Palpatine’s undoing. She’d started with the small crimes, the simple felonies, but then Leia had revealed the truth of her Godfather’s near miss with death and all the others that had avoided that fate, often due to luck, and those that did not get the chance of making it out alive._

_In the records were multiple attempts on her Mother’s own life. What with all the near incidents, looking over all the failed reports made Leia believe that there had to be something out there that had guided Padmé to safety. Still, there was one record that Leia wished not to show, knowing how deeply it would affect not just her Mother but her fathers as well._

_“When Palpatine realized that you still had a political career after revealing your involvement with two men, that you were still a viable threat to him,” Leia had said softly, placing the final piece in front of her Mother, “he decided to try his first attempt in killing you. He found a man with known ties to alcoholism, a man without a job, a man that had a large, starving family, a man that would have done anything ,even risk his own life, for them. Palpatine then exploited these traits and had a tracker placed in your car.”_

_About twenty-two years ago, when her Mother had been pregnant with her and her brother, was when the incident had occurred. Leia had always known of the car accident that had taken her Dad’s arm and caused the ugly scars on her Father’s right arm and left leg. But her mother had thankfully come out of it fine and herself and Luke had been unharmed and the pregnancy unaffected. There was now a sick irony in it though, knowing that the entire accident had been a set up for Padmé and she had been the one person to make it out with barely even a scratch._

_Sometimes bad things happened to good people. But the car accident hadn’t been an unlucky moment and Leia had been able to tell that with this truth, the old wounds of the event had reopened in painful, brilliant crimson as she spoke the information and her parents’ eyes scanned the document. Her Mother, Dad, and Father had all come to terms with a freak accident but now there was a culprit, now there was someone to blame and it made all the difference._

_Leia and her brother had rarely seen their Dad angry, not truly. Yet it was impossible not to jump as his mechanical hand slammed through the nearest wall and the finer, more delicate parts of the arm had shattered with the force of the strike._

_Leia had watched as her father removed his hand and lowered it to his side, small bits of metal falling to the floor to form a harsh melody as the fingers twitched uncontrollably, no longer properly connected._

_“Tell me there’s something we can do Padmé,” her Dad had whispered. “Tell me there’s something that can be done with this information because if not, I swear I’ll rip that monster’s throat out.”_

_No one had doubted his words._

_Silence had loomed over the family, dark and so heavy that it was practically tangible. Leia had watched the anger seething off her Dad, Anakin’s eyes seeming to turn dark and his muscles tensing, only for it all to drop away in a wave of utter sorrow._

_He’d rushed at Luke and Leia, enveloping them both and pulling them to his chest._

_“I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry, so sorry,” her Dad had said, burying his face between them._

_Leia had hugged her Dad tight. Over his shoulder, she’d seen her Father with a hand on her Mother’s shoulders, seemingly frozen in place. The crushing pain on his face made him look far older, highlighting the lines around his eyes and mouth. Nevertheless, he had spoken the first positive idea._

_“Your former body guard Padme, Sabé. She’s with the FBI. She could help,” Obi-Wan had said._

_Leia’s Mother had slowly nodded. “She just might be able to.” Padmé had then held out a hand towards Leia’s Dad. “Anakin I’m so sorry. I’m—”_

_“It’s not your fault Padmé. Don’t even think that,” her Dad had said as her Father nodded in agreement. “I should say sorry for punching a hole in the wall.”_

_“Better the wall than something else,” her Father had murmured, his fingers running through her Dad’s hair. His eyes had then turned to Leia and Luke. “You two are in more trouble than you can imagine but for now, finding a way to take down Palpatine and protect this family and the other senators is our priority.”_

_Leia and Luke had nodded and then in a strange twist, their family got in contact with confidents, reviewed the evidence, went through the loopholes in the law, and did everything in their power to find something that would stick and drag Palpatine down._

* * *

“It doesn’t matter,” Palpatine responded with narrowed eyes. “I won’t even sit in jail. This will be over before you know it and then you’re wretched family will be wiped from this Earth.”

Leia allowed herself a wicked smile. “You’re making public threats not wrapped in diplomacy and mist? I’m sorry Sheev, but you just gave yourself away. I imagine you and a jail cell will become quite intimate.”

“Why you little shit—!”

Time seemed to slow. Would it have been easy to stop the old, feeble man’s blow? Of course. Leia could have also easily stepped out of the way blocked or hit him back for trying to attack her but instead, she felt a body move in front of her. A robotic hand, still relatively new, came out, grabbed Palpatine by the throat and threw him to the floor of the front porch.

Leia watched her Dad step forward and point one long, silver finger down at the man.

“I dare you to give me a reason,” Anakin said. “Just one.”

“You assaulted me!” hissed Palpatine, his voice high and grating.

“And you not only threatened but also attempted to attack my daughter on my property," Anakin replied, his voice dangerously soft. “You’re just a weak, twisted thing that’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail.”

Leia suddenly stepped in front of her Dad as his words trailed off. “Now you get off our porch.”

“You fucking—”

The second attempt at hitting Leia ended even worse for Palpatine as Leia didn’t hesitate to swing at him and break his nose.

As blood gushed down Palpatine’s face, Leia took a step closer and added, “To think you had once ruled the Senate. Now you can’t even control yourself. You’re self-destructing Palpatine and like that lovely stream of blood running down your chin, your secrets are coming out. You will lose everything but even more importantly, nobody will even care to remember your name. Yes, all material aspects will be taken from you, but more importantly, you have no legacy anymore. Now, this time I mean it, goodbye Palpatine. I hope to never see you again.”

Leia liked to imagine that it was her speech alone that finally caused Palpatine to realize that he was fighting a losing battle here, but she was fairly sure that the ensemble that had gathered behind herself and her Dad helped quite a bit.

Only when Palpatine was in his car and actually driving away did she feel her Dad relax and wrap his arms around her. “I am so proud of you.”

“Proud! Anakin she punched him in the face!” cried her Father and the two turned, seeming to break the short spell of silence.

Obi-Wan immediately wanted to check her hand as Luke was practically shaking her from excitement, disbelief and awe in his voice. Padmé softly reprimanded Leia though the words didn’t mean much when she was smiling through them and Bail simply said he was sorry he hadn’t had the chance to throw the punch himself. Breha softly hit her husband but was smirking at the words nonetheless.

“Father,” Leia finally managed to get out. “I’m fine. I promise. Nothing broken, probably won’t even bruise.”

Her Father just shook his head and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Leia expected he would use his next words to reprimand her in some way. Instead, he peaked out between his fingers and murmured, “I’m so happy you were never a problem child.”

Everyone laughed at that except Obi-Wan who rolled his eyes but still smiled fondly at Leia.

“Well,” Bail suddenly spoke up, “I think we should take this as a good sign. You’re right Leia. If Palpatine is self-destructing so badly that he’s made such a mistake as coming here and threatening us, then there is truly no hope for him to hold onto. His corruption is actually coming to an end. As a Senator, and a near victim of Palpatine’s, I must say thank you for all that you, your brother, and your friends have done. As your Godfather, I must say don’t you dare ever do something like this again.”

They went back into the home, Obi-Wan still repeatedly making sure Leia was alright even though she assured him that she was, and their meal went on like nothing had happened.

Leia felt a considerable amount of pride for what she had been able to do. Granted, it was all thanks to Sabé, an FBI agent and her Mother’s friend, that herself, brother, and no one else were in jail. If Sabé had been unable to find people willing to rat Palpatine out, that might have been a different story. But with not only evidence but plenty of witnesses now coming forward, the fall of the former senator would be swift and just. Many of the powerful leaders that had once backed him had quickly stepped away, trying to minimize the damage to their own careers as quickly as possible.

Personally, Leia would have liked to get rid of all of that lot but she knew that the most many were guilty of were cowardice and there was no law against that.

In total, forty-two had died. That was more than some serial killers, than mass murderers, larger than some tragedies and massacres. And there had been even more attempts that had been thwarted by pure chance, a canceling of an appointment, a decision to take a different path or drive to work than take the usual cab. Some of the schemes, so carefully constructed to hide their true intent, were awesome in how detailed they’d been. If there wasn’t the documentation and the new witnesses, it would have been near impossible to prove that any of the incidents were more than accidents.

Nevertheless, the sudden move back to normality was odd and would clearly take time getting use to it.

Back to getting to class on time, to going into work every day, to not sitting on stakeouts or breaking into buildings. It was even odder when Leia remembered that the reasons to be around Han at all had disappeared. At least the initial reasons. There were new grounds to meet with him but the basis to their relationship was gone.

Still, the fact that Han had asked her on a date the moment it was obvious that their group was in the clear at least showed that he didn’t want to let what had formed simply drop away and disappear. That first date was good though, for both of them Leia was fairly sure. It allowed them to create a new standard and norm for meeting that didn’t involve felonies and the requirement of wearing all black.

Leia still hadn’t informed her parents though. Before the discovery of the murders and when it felt like they had all the time in the world to gather information on Palpatine, Luke had brought Wedge with him to a family dinner and informed their parents of the new relationship.

Their Mother and Dad had let out sighs and muttered, “Finally,” while their Father simply gave Wedge a good once over before giving an approving nod. Somehow, Leia doubted it would go the same way for Han and her.

Still, worrying about what her parents would think of Han was a welcomed choice compared with worrying about ending up in jail.

Nevertheless, she didn’t simply drop the matter with Palpatine like her brother, Wedge, and Han seemed all to ready to do. There was one small matter that worried her greatly and that was Brendol Hux.

With the infiltration they’d done on Palpatine’s countryside home, Leia had come to learn a great deal more about the mystery man. He’d formally been in the US Army before being dishonorably discharged for the assault of a superior officer. Most might have seen the action as simply a sign of emotional instability but looking over the confidential records, Leia had read through the lines.

It had been a tactical move, one which allowed a man with a similar profile to Hux to take over his squadron right before they were to be deployed in enemy territory. For Leia, it was clear that when Hux had been unable to change his superior commander’s opinion on the best course of military action, he had done the extreme to get someone in charge that would follow Hux’s mindset.

And though that had been the action that sent Brendol Hux over the line, there was a long list of other misdemeanors that had hidden meaning and plans behind them. Leia could tell why so many crimes had been swept under the rug before the Army finally put its foot down though. Hux was a superior leader, he knew how to rally the troops, had been highly educated and was an excellent strategist, his mind functioning on a higher level than most. If it weren’t for his lack of a moral code and his willingness to harm others to pursue his goals, he would have made an exemplary soldier. It was clear why Palpatine had hired him.

But he was missing now. Despite the police and government’s best efforts, Brendol Hux had seemingly disappeared from the Earth. He had been a part of Palpatine’s inner circle, the one who had orchestrated a number of events, disguised the accidents, found the ones needy enough to do anything for just a little compensation. Yes, Palpatine had been the figure head, the fear directed at him giving him power, but it was undeniable that much of that fear would not have built up without the help of others, particularly Hux.

Leia tried to bring this up with Luke, her parents, Han and Wedge but they all reacted similarly, with a sigh and a plea to drop it. It was clear that they did this not because they didn’t believe her but simply because they didn’t think it was in their hands anymore. Leia wanted to believe that too, trust in the government and everything, but somehow she couldn’t let it go.


	9. The Final Shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One last chapter after this one! A big thank you as always and the last chapter will be up sometime soon. Please enjoy.

Leia knew what Brendol Hux looked like from the pictures she had seen. About her Dad’s age and height, ginger hair in a typical military cut, muscular, and frown lines that deepened his face and made him look far older than he was. At least, that’s what she got from the photos. Reality had changed him a good deal since those pictures had been taken.

It was a normal day, a little cloudy and cool but otherwise nice enough. Leia had decided to visit her Dad at his work. After talking a bit and looking over what Anakin was working on, they decided to head out to eat. They sat outside a small restaurant near her Dad’s work.

“So, anymore criminal activities I should be worried about?” asked Anakin with a cheeky grin.

“Just the regular, boring, typical young adult things that I’m sure you dealt with as well,” Leia said with a smile. “Honestly, after all that’s happened, I’m sure I’d bore you out of your mind. I want to hear how your latest project is going.”

“I showed it to you when you first came,” Anakin responded. “I want to hear how your day has been.”

“As I stated, boring. Besides, I’m sure there are some minute details that you could so easily go on and on about.”

Her Dad shook his head. “Now I just feel like you’re hiding something from me. That, or your mind is still stuck on the whole Palpatine thing. Is it?”

“No.”

“Please Leia, it’s done and over with. His trial is in the process of finishing up now and there’s no way they’re going to let him walk. Even if they did, all his supporters have backed out. He has nothing.” Anakin said this with a puppy-like expression, something that Luke had to have inherited. “He’s not going to be a problem ever again.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about,” sighed Leia. “Besides, where do you think I get my one tracked mind from? So many people have been found and are awaiting trial or accepted a plea bargain or any number of other things but not Brendol Hux.”

“Well I’m sure a man like that knows how to hide if need be.”

“But why?” Leia asked. “I’ve looked over his files. Skewed morals or not, he takes loyalty and obedience more seriously than anything else, whether he’s the one dishing it out or having it dished to him. He’s not going to just change his name and disappear like—”

“He could,” interrupted Anakin. “You’ve seen some official records about this guy but you’ve never met him personally. You could be completely off on his personality.”

“I’m not.”

Her Dad sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked like he was about to argue but then just shook his head. “Knowing you, you probably aren’t wrong.”

“Yet you would prefer it if I was. Let me guess, is Mom worrying about this? Is Father?”

Anakin shook his head. “It is done Leia.”

“Then you guys aren’t just blowing me off. You see that this Hux guy could show up again. Besides, remember Palpatine’s threat about literally wiping our family out? Brendol Hux was the guy that set up a lot of Palpatine’s hits, some he even did himself. What if that was Palpatine’s final order?”

“To take out our family?” sighed her Dad.

“Why not? Sure, there were plenty of people that caused him problems but no one like Mom so consistently stood up to him, except perhaps Bail but he’s practically family anyways and if Palpatine means to kill us then I wouldn’t put it past him to go after Bail again and even Breha and then—”

“You’re making this out to be some huge revenge plot.”

“And you don’t think Palaptine is above that?”

Her Dad murmured, “Not at all. However, Brendol Hux would likely be put in prison for life if not given the death sentence. Loyalty or not, I doubt he’s going to risk his life, especially when there’s nothing to gain.”

“How do you know there’s nothing to gain though?” pressed Leia. “Maybe there’s someone special or a family member that will be provided for if he gets this job done. Palpatine is still rich as all hell.”

Anakin still looked unconvinced, or at least he was pretending to. His robotic hand rhythmically tapped against the table. “Leia…it’s bad enough to realize how many times my wife has been close to death because of this man. I’d rather not deal with the idea that I could lose my entire family because of him.”

“But you can’t just ignore it because you’d rather not. Alright, I admit, maybe this is all farfetched if you look at it in a different light, but it’s better to be safe rather than sorry, don’t you agree?” Leia asked.

“I wish I didn’t,” her Dad answered after a moment. “I wish someone else had discovered this.”

“That person would likely be in danger then.”

“But at least my family would be safe,” sighed Anakin. He reached a hand across the table and squeezed Leia’s hand. “That’s selfish, I know. But if Brendol Hux is a threat, or Palpatine has made some final action to try and ax us off, there isn’t much I can do. Not right now anyways.”

“Hey, I feel helpless over all this as well. Yes, my mind has been stuck on Brendol Hux for days now but it’s not like I’ve figured out anything to do that could help,” she murmured.

“Helpless? You?” teased Anakin. “You’re the most capable person I know.”

“Somehow I think that opinion is fairly biased,” Leia chuckled. She was about to continue when she finally noticed two men approaching them. She was thankful that her hand was still in her Dad’s because on instinct she squeeze it hard and tight.

Anakin noticed the sudden change in mood and turned just as the two men approached them. However, before either Leia or her Dad could do anything, one of the men pulled out what looked like a wallet and flipped it open.

“Anakin Skywalker, Leia Amidala, we’ll need you to come with us.”

Anakin took the badge that was presented and looked it over. Finally he asked, “Is anyone hurt?”

“No but both of your lives are in danger. We need to move you to a secure location, now,” the agent said.

Leia gave a sidelong glance at her Dad. Nevertheless, she didn’t feel any pride knowing that she had been right.

They went with the two agents and during the car ride, Leia allowed her Dad to hold her tight against his chest, knowing that the act of comfort was less for her and more for himself. They weren’t allowed to call anyone but were assured that the rest of their family were already safe and in custody.

The ride was long, silent, and incredibly aggravating as there was nothing to do but let her Dad keep a hold on her. Leia wondered about Han, where he was and if he somehow knew what was going on. She suddenly remembered the date they had planned that evening. She wished she could contact him to assure him that she was fine but she doubted the agents sitting in front of them would allow something like that.

It seemed like forever until they finally pulled up to a small home. They had driven out of the city and it looked like the nearest neighbor was miles away. Another car was there and the agents guided both Anakin and Leia into the small home.

Walking in, Leia immediately knew that the agents better be on guard because it was likely her Dad would launch himself at them. The only reason he didn’t do it right away was likely because he was rushing to Padmé. He held her tenderly as he looked over the very clear cast on her arm. He looked over her head and gave a hard glare at the nearest agent. “You said no one was hurt.”

“It’s not fatal and she’ll heal. Besides, we needed to bring you in as quickly as possible and we didn’t want any unnecessary panic.”

Anakin still looked like he was ready to attack one of them but a comforting hand on his shoulder from Obi-Wan stilled him for the moment. Luke quickly came towards Leia and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“You were right. I wish you hadn’t been but you were,” muttered Luke.

Leia gave him a sad half smile and turned to one of the agents, there were three in total. “So it is Brendol Hux?”

An agent nodded. “He attacked your mother but got away before any officers could get to the scene. Witnesses and security cameras were used to identify him.”

Leia frowned. “But why bring all of us in? Why not just my Mother?”

“I don’t think now is really—” Obi-Wan tried but he was stopped by the agent with a wave of his hand.

“No, it’s fine. Now, as far as why you’re all under protection, Brendol Hux made some very clear public threats against your family as a whole. Due to this, who the man is, and what he was involved in, we’ve deemed this a necessary precaution until we know more.”

Perhaps his words were meant to reassure the others that they had everything under control but Leia couldn’t help the frown that was setting on her face. “He wouldn’t do that,” she said simply.

Luke sighed, “Now is not the time to try and prove you’re smarter than—”

“I’m not proving anything. This is the exact opposite of what Brendol Hux would do,” countered Leia. “This move suggests deterioration and desperation. Such emotions are below a man like Hux. He wouldn’t have done this unless there was a larger plan in place.”

“Listen,” said the agent, “you’re safe here, alright? There’s no need to—”

“Are we simply alone or is there a perimeter outside?” interrupted Leia.

“Sweetheart,” Padmé tried but before she could Leia continued.

“Get in contact with them right now. Hux is coming,” Leia said with absolute certainty.

The main agent she’d been talking to looked about ready to retort back but one of the other men hit him in the shoulder and said, “Hey, if it calms her down I see no reason to not give her what she wants.”

The man sighed but brought his hand up to the Bluetooth piece on his ear. “Rixby come in.”

Silence spanned for a moment. Leia already knew she was right but it was clear that the agent was still trying to believe the situation was in control.

“Come in Rixby. Now.” Another pause. “Andrew come in.”

“He’s taking care of the perimeter you’ve set up if he hasn’t finished already,” muttered Leia darkly. “You set up the trap perfectly.”

The agent seemed to hesitate, still unwilling to believe it but thankfully the other two jumped into gear. One went to check the windows while the other quickly began explaining the emergency escape plan just as the agent at the window yelled, “Get down!”

Leia grabbed Luke and dropped to the floor with him as gunfire exploded in her ears. She didn’t have time to look back at her parents and see if they were alright. Instead, she crawled towards the nearest agent, the one she’d been arguing with. He hadn’t ducked quick enough and now blood spilled onto the floor.

Acting on instinct, she flipped open his jacket and revealed two guns on either hip. She took both out as the gunfire subsided. Leia looked for anything else that might be useful and moments later, as gunfire started up again, the agent that had been near the window found his way to her. He checked for a pulse on his comrade but it was no use.

“I’ve called for backup,” the agent yelled as he lay next to her.

Leia didn’t say that she doubted it would get there in time. She just nodded. The gunfire ceased again and the agent motioned her to follow him into a different room. They kept low to the floor and Leia noted that her brother was following her along with their Dad. Their Mom and Father must have gotten to a different area with the other agent.

Once in the next room, Leia slid one of the guns to her Dad. She kept the other gun close to her side and used her eyes to dare the agent to try and take it away.

All the agent said was, “Stay together. I’ll check outside again. We’re going to make our way to the side door in the kitchen. Right over there.”

As the agent said that and moved to the nearest window, Leia moved her body so that she was facing the direction of their escape. She’d been right so far. Hux wouldn’t just continually rain bullets on the house. He was coming in and she was betting from one of their escape routes.

Leia didn’t hear anything but she did notice the edge of a boot appearing. She tried to pull the trigger but the safety was on so she did the next best thing and threw the gun with all her might and pulled Luke under the kitchen table. As she did this, three shots were fired, a thud, and then another shot.

She hadn’t even realized she’d closed her eyes until she forced them open, fear prickling in her gut at what she might see.

The ginger was what stood out first. Brendol Hux’s hair was long and shaggy, nothing like the military cut Leia knew off. He had a beard as well and a scar on his cheek that hadn’t been there when he was in the service. His eyes were closed and he lay very still.

Leia peaked out from under the table and saw the agent slowly approaching Hux. Her eyes then moved to her Dad who still had the gun raised but her eyes locked on the patch of red on his left arm.

“Dad—”

A cry went out as Leia swivled back to Hux who had tripped up the agent. Before Leia could move, Hux was already taking the man down with military precision. She watched as Hux managed to disarm the agent, pin him down, and then wrap his hand around the man’s head, clearly preparing to break the man’s neck.

But apparently Hux didn’t take into account Anakin’s gun. Leia’s Dad fired repeatedly, catching Hux in the shoulder first, red spraying outwards. The next shot clipped the agent’s ear and then hit Hux squarely in the chest. As he fell backwards, Anakin continued to fire, next missing, then hitting Hux’s other arm, hitting his upper leg, and so on.

When the gun stopped shooting and the only sound was the clicking of the trigger, Anakin was up and advancing as Hux struggled to get up.

Leia watched her Dad pick up the gun she had thrown, turn off the safety, and press it into Hux’s forehead as he used his body to pin him to the ground. Still, Hux struggled and he managed to get out, “You don’t have the guts.”

“You’ve threatened the life of my family. Don’t tell me what I’m capable of,” growled out Anakin. “Is there anyone else here?”

Despite the multiple bullet wounds, Hux’s face remained calm and indifferent.

“He’s not going to answer you,” whispered Leia as she slowly came out from under the table. Luke followed her as the agent stood up, gingerly touching his ear. “And he came alone. More people would have just complicated it.”

Brendol Hux turned his eyes to Leia. It was difficult to dissect exactly what his thoughts were but there almost seemed to be approval there. She resisted the urge to shudder and instead steeled her nerves. It was over and that’s what mattered. Still, she reached for Luke’s hand and squeezed hard for comfort.

Leia was brought out of her thoughts as the agent suddenly said, “Mr. Skywalker I’ll take it—”

“Excuse me if I doubt your abilities,” Anakin replied, “but you get my kids out of here and find the rest of my family first.”

Thankfully, the agent didn’t argue as it would have been a pointless move. Instead, he quickly contacted the other agent and then guided Leia and Luke out of the house and towards the cars. Her Mother and Father were there with the other agent.

Leia rushed into Padmé’s arms and hugged her tight. She had never felt safer in her Mother’s arms than at that moment.

“Your Dad is he—”

“He’s alive Mom,” Leia replied. “He’s alive.”

Leia buried her face in her Mother’s arms again, calming herself and taking deep breaths until she heard cars coming down the road. The backup was here. As the cars stopped, her Dad, an agent, and Brendol Hux finally came out of the small house.

Hux had taken four bullets to the chest but the most he’d probably get from them was severe bruising and some broken ribs thanks to the bullet proof vest. However, Anakin had succeeded in shooting him in the left shoulder, two times in the right arm, and once in the right leg. Leia would have thought the pain unbearable but Hux walked with his head held high and face stoic.

Her Dad on the other hand was wincing as he moved from the wound in his shoulder.

Luke ran from his Father to Anakin and made it clear that he wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

The next moments seemed to move in a blur as paramedics checked each person out. Luke rode in the ambulance with Anakin to the hospital to get the bullet removed and the rest agreed to meet them there.

On the way over, Leia briefly texted Han to explain the situation but focused on her family for the moment.

No longer did Leia feel uncertain. Brendol Hux was now in custody and her family was safe.

At the hospital, Leia waited with her brother and her Father as Padmé paced back and forth, taking care of any and all business before they were allowed to see Anakin. When they could, it was only two at a time so Padmé and Luke went first. After about fifteen minutes, they switched out with Leia and Obi-Wan.

Going in, Leia noted her Dad looked well and ready to jump out of bed. However, he was ordered to stay overnight though it appeared that the bullet hadn’t hit anything major and that he’d be fine.

As Leia held her Dad’s hand and smiled at him with a new lightness in her chest, she was started by the commotion going on in the hall. She raised an eyebrow at her Father and looked towards the door just as Han rushed in with a nurse hot on his trail.

“Sir you cannot—”

“Leia are you alright! Luke just told me someone got shot and that it was because of Hux and Palpatine and you didn’t respond and—”

“Han!” cried Leia. She had released her Dad’s hand and stood up in front of Han. “I am fine. We are all fine. You needn’t—”

Han suddenly grabbed her and kissed her hard. Leia rolled her eyes at his over dramatic nature but allowed herself to ease into the kiss. She felt truly safe now that she knew the events of Palpatine were actually behind her and being in Han’s arms with her fathers right there certainly helped as well.

Right, her fathers…

Leia pulled back and at Han’s confused face, she gave a slight cough and said, “Han…you’ve met my Father and Dad right?”

Han suddenly went red faced, realizing exactly what he had just done. Looking from face to face, Leia had to give her fathers credited. Neither seemed ready to freak out or faint but it did seem they were in an odd state of shock.

“Right,” murmured Leia. “So…”

Obi-Wan blinked, the first sign of movement from either of them. Finally he spoke. “I said be easier on him, not date him.”

“Well, I can assure you that wasn’t the intention,” Leia responded with a small smile. “But Han isn’t the person I made him out to be and I think, after a little time, you’ll come to see that too.”

Anakin gave a small smirk. “Hmm, is that so? Well, after I’m out of this damn hospital, you’re coming over to dinner.”

“I am?” asked Han a little incredulously.

“Yep and no buts about it. Leia, you have my complete permission to resort to kidnapping if he won’t come,” Anakin added.

Han raised an eyebrow at that but Leia couldn’t help the small smile on her face. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that, shall we?”


	10. The Outcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter I know but I hope you enjoy it and enjoyed this story. For those that are curious, I will begin publishing the last part of this trilogy fairly soon. It will focus on Rey, Kylo Ren, Hux, Phasma, Poe, and Finn and will be its own separate story but with obvious tie-ins to this one and even "From Two to Three" also. Once again, thanks for reading.

Leia woke up in her bed. Letting out a soft yawn, she stretched and got up and dressed. After choosing a rather professional looking outfit, she headed out of her room to see her brother sitting at the couch. He looked her over and let out a deep sigh.

“You’re going again today?”

She nodded. “I will until it’s finally over.”

Luke shook his head. “But the media doesn’t even know the extent we were involved with. You could just stay in. We could watch a movie, order in, have Han and Wedge come over—”

“As wonderful as that sounds, and it would be a nice break, I simply can’t Luke.”

He sighed but nodded. “I understand. I’d say have fun but…”

Leia snorted. “I think I’ve got it. I’ll see you later.”

She took the car and left for the center of the city. She understood why Luke wouldn’t want to join her but this was something she had to do. It was her last act so that she could finally let Palpatine and Hux go. She just needed to finish their trials and then she would be complete, she wouldn’t have to think on the events ever again. Her role in their downfall was unknown to the media and to the courts so there was no point in being there, yet she came anyway, needing to see the proceedings with her own eyes. It took weeks and weeks, sitting in that court room, watching the lawyers going back and forth with each other. Still, the evidence that was present was to good. They went smoothly and the final decision did end up being what she had hoped for.

However, after Palpatine’s trial had finished, Leia went to the last day of Hux’s. She noted something that twisted her stomach in painful, odd ways. There was a woman there sitting with everyone else in the benches. Leia hadn’t seen her there before yet the way she was looking Brendol Hux told Leia the truth. Her hair was strawberry blonde and her belly round, looking to be about six months pregnant.

_Hux would have a child…_

The thought sickened Leia, even more from the way the adoration that the woman was displaying to her partner, husband, whatever they were. Leia hoped that Brendol Hux would never see his kid, that the child could grow up safe and untainted. But she had no say in that unborn child and, after hearing the final punishment, the trial was over. Leia knew that she would never see that child again. All she could do was wish it the best.

On that last day, Leia walked out of the courthouse and to the street where Han waited with his car.

“You know, I don’t understand why you had to stay till the end,” said Han. “I would have run in the opposite direction knowing what that guy nearly did.”

Leia sighed. “I needed to see it through. That’s all. Besides, it’s over now. I can finally focus on what truly matters.”

Han opened the car door for her and then went around to the driver’s side before saying, “I hope that I’m in that category.”

She rolled her eyes. “You damn well know you are. Are you still coming for dinner with my parents?”

If he did, it would be for the second time. The first had been rather awkward and certainly touch and go but not awful. No, definitely not that. Still, Leia hoped that this second dinner would go more smoothly than the last.

“Hmm, I’m still slightly afraid of your Father.”

“Which I still find funny because I really would have thought my Dad would be the one to scare you off,” Leia said with a chuckle. “Obi-Wan is such a teddy bear.”

“With the ability to maul.”

“He won’t maul you,” laughed Leia. “Besides, I’m sure if anything happened both my Mother and Dad would hold him back.”

“Still, there’s a risk…”

“Please Han, I think this time it actually will go better. And they want to get to know you as well. Luke wanted you to be a part of this family from the very beginning and my parents would like that too. I promise, this time it won’t be as awkward.”

“Well…you and your Mother are pretty good at keeping the conversation going,” Han admitted.

“Comes with the territory.”

“I still can’t believe you want to be a politician after all of this,” said Han.

“If anything, it only gives me a deeper reason to be one,” Leia responded. “I won’t let someone like Palpatine rise to power again. That’s easier said than done, unless you’re working on the inside.”

“Perhaps but I don’t like the idea of you risking your neck like that.”

Leia raised an eyebrow. “Hmm, and you think you can stop me?”

“Of course not! When I signed up for this, I knew that you were the type to stick your neck out for others. Just something I’m going to have to deal with.”

“That’s very mature of you.”

“I simply don’t like the idea of you in danger again. Especially after all that’s happened,” replied Han. “But you’ll go where there’s a problem and you’ll try to fix it. Just who you are.”

“And you’re alright in dealing with this?”

“If it means staying with you? Absolutely.”

Leia smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Now, let’s concentrate on our double date with Wedge and Luke. I’m sure they’re already waiting.”

Han shook his head. “I honestly never expected to hear all those words smashed together.”

“If it’s any consolation, neither did I,” Leia laughed. “But dinner afterwards. You will come.”

Han shook his head but smiled all the same. He replied, “As the Princess commands.”


End file.
